


Walking On Dreams

by schreibfeather



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, And dreaming is often fun, Dreams, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Humor, James Lives, Lily Lives, Lily is the best mum ever, Obviously because people are dreaming, Revenge, Romance, Silber: The Book of Dreams AU, Simon makes an adorable younger sibling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2018-11-15 06:23:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11225157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schreibfeather/pseuds/schreibfeather
Summary: "A secret? What kind of secret?" Haley wondered curiously. Her mum laughed at that."Ah, it wouldn't be nice if I told you that… I might tell you one day. But for now I'm going to tell you a different secret."Haley blinked in anticipation. Was this secret going to help her?"I found a way to see what other people are dreaming."...When Haley Potter refuses to return to Hogwarts after Christmas Break her mum knows something's terribly wrong. There is a boy at school who keeps tormenting her but Lily comes up with a plan to get back at him. Haley simply has to spy on the boy in his dreams and find out his darkest secret. But what happens when what Haley finds out is completely different from what she expected?





	1. Bedtime Stories

_"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions."_  
_― Edgar Cayce_

...

„ _Muuuum_ , can't I stay here? I don't wanna go back to Hogwarts," Haley Potter groaned over dinner like a five-year-old. It certainly was an unusual sight. For one, the auburn-haired girl wasn't known for behaving like a toddler and for another she loved Hogwarts! She loved learning about magic and spending every day with her friends but… something was definitely bothering her.

"Nonsense," her mother, Lily Potter admonished, "I know for a fact that you love Hogwarts. Why would you want to stay here with your boring old parents when you could learn how to brew the _Draught of Peace_ or _Baruffios' Brain Elixir_?"

Haley shared an eye-roll with her father, James Potter.

"But _mum_! I don't know if you remember but I am in fifth year now! Do you know how much homework we get every day? I barely made it to Christmas break without going insane!"

"Don't use that tone with me, Haley Petunia! And stop playing with your food."

"But _muuum!_ "

"If I hear another _but mum_ from you, I'm confiscating your Firebolt!"

"But m– I mean – _yes mum._ "

"Have you started packing yet? You know you won't have much time tomorrow, before we're leaving." Lily said for the fifth time that day.

"I'll start after dinner," Haley murmured, "do I really have to go back?"

Lily gave her a look that clearly said, she was done arguing about this. That look was bad news. But Haley was nothing if not stubborn. There was one last way…

" _Dad,_ " she pleaded in her most pitiful voice. She even resorted to pouting which was really stretching it far. James made the mistake of looking at her, so he was hit with her pouting face full force. He was trying hard to resist but Haley could see that he was losing the fight. She tried to look even more innocent and small. 3… 2… 1…

James looked away. "You heard what your mum said."

Damn, when had he learned to resist her kitten eyes? She didn't want to see the triumphant look on her mum's face.

"Fine," Haley spat, getting up from the table, "I might as well start packing then. In case I don't survive the rest of the term, don't blame _me,_ your only daughter!"

With that, she stormed out of the kitchen and up to her room.

…

There was a knock on her door.

"Go away!" Haley called as she continued carelessly throwing things into her suitcase.

The door opened.

"Mum says you should come down for tea," her little brother, Simon said. His hair had almost the same shade of auburn as hers did. But while Haley's long locks had a more reddish copper tint (like their mum's) Simon's hair always reminded her of bronze.

"Where were you at dinner?" She asked, squinting her eyes at him in a searching way.

"At Penny's..." Simon answered slowly.

Haley crossed her arms over her chest. "It's my last night at home and you'd rather spend it playing around than having dinner with your favourite sister?"

"You're my _only_ sister..." He muttered.

"What was that?" Haley asked harshly while she stalked over to her brother slowly.

"I – I mean – you – you won't miss me anyway." Simon admitted, looking at his feet sadly.

Now, that was enough to melt the heart of a big sister.

"Simon," she cooed, crushing the boy in her arms, "Of course I'll miss you, dummy. Who wouldn't miss their cute, annoying baby brother?"

"I'm not a baby," Simon muttered, "I'll be eleven next year. And then I can finally go to Hogwarts, too."

"Presuming you get the letter," Haley couldn't help but add.

"Haley!" Her brother complained from somewhere next to her shoulder. When had he got this tall?

"Just kidding," she relented, "I'm totally looking forward to it." She squeezed him tightly, before letting go completely. "But you know the rules, no calling me sister or 'sis' at school. Everyone will think I'm old, when they see I have a baby brother."

Simon didn't look impressed, "I'm not your ba-"

"I know, I know, let's go downstairs now, shall we? You probably won't be able to sleep, if you miss dessert." As she pulled her brother out of her room and down the stairs, she thought that she wouldn't even mind Simon's complaining if it meant she didn't have to go back to Hogwarts.

...

"Are you still going to eat that?" Simon asked.

"Yes," Haley whispered, even though she didn't have the least bit of an appetite. If she had been in a better mood she might have given her scone to Simon but as it was, her mood was terrible. And on top of that, if her brother ate one more scone, he would surely burst! Haley ignored the pout on Simon's face and stuffed her face with the pastry.

She didn't even have to look up from her plate to know, three pairs of eyes were watching her.

"Haley," her mum said cautiously, like she was a wounded animal or something.

"What?" Haley burst out, spitting food everywhere. She felt so angry all of a sudden.

"Why… why don't you want to go back to Hogwarts?"

"You ask me that _now_?" Haley shot her mum an angry look. But she wouldn't be her mum if she didn't meet it head on. No wavering. One eyebrow vanishing under her red hair. She didn't say anything, simply waiting for Haley to say what was on her mind. It had always been like that. Haley had always been the hot-headed one, just like her dad.

Haley took a sip of her tea. She was stalling for time.

After what seemed like minutes of her intently watching her lap, she took a deep breath and braced herself for the words, that were already waiting inside her throat.

"I can't go back," she told her lap quietly, "because… there's someone at school who..."

The rest of her words rushed out of her mouth like a tumbling river that had been contained for too long, "who makes my life a living hell! He's always there, tripping me up, calling me names, taunting me, messing up my potions and – and –" There was more, but before she could continue, she had to calm down somewhat or else she was going to bite her tongue off.

"And then there's also the insane amount of homework we have to do every day. Not to forget quidditch! I – I feel like I'm slowly going insane..."

For a while nobody said a word. When Haley finally looked up, she was met with contemplative faces.

She raised her eyebrows. Was that all? No other reaction?

In her mind, she had already heard her dad say something like, _'My daughter doesn't let herself be bullied by some stupid guy! She is a proud_ _G_ _ryffindor for_ _G_ _odric's sake! Who dares lay a finger on my Haley?'_

Her dad looked like he was going to say something exactly like that but her mum silenced him with a look.

"Hm," she said thoughtfully. Nothing more.

"Really? That's all you have to say to that? No helpful advice?" Haley asked, puzzled.

"Great," she spat with a snort, "I knew this was pointless."

She stood from her seat and rushed off toward her room for the second time that night.

…

As she was lying inside her bed that night, she couldn't stop herself from worrying.

_Maybe it'll be okay! I'll just ignore him or hex him or hit him or – or… why does he even hate me that much? I never did anything to him, did I? Did I…?_

Haley's thoughts were rudely interrupted by her bedroom door opening. She caught a glimpse of red hair – of course it was her mum. She didn't want to talk to her, so she quickly turned around, facing the wall and pretended to be asleep.

 _Is it working?_ , she thought, as she tried to breathe in a natural way.

Her bed dipped with the weight of somebody sitting down. _You're asleep, you're asleep_ , Haley told herself repeatedly. Then there was a hand combing through her locks softly.

Haley sighed in contentment. She loved when her mum did that.

A chuckle. "So you _were_ awake."

Why did it have to feel so nice? Haley didn't answer. It wasn't necessary. They both knew she was awake.

"You've always enjoyed that far too much," Lily whispered, while she continued to massage her scalp.

"Don't wanna talk," Haley mumbled, still facing away from her mum.

"That's fine, you can just listen." She whispered.

Haley stayed quiet, she was still mad after all.

"I once… was your age, too, you know. I might understand you much better than you think."

The girl scoffed, "Is this the part where you tell me that life is hard but we have to get through anyway?"

Lily chuckled again. "I'm surprised the hat didn't put you into Ravenclaw with that brain of yours."

"Ha ha," Haley retorted.

"That boy you mentioned earlier… do you have an idea why he is giving you so much trouble?"

"No! That's exactly my point! I have not the slightest idea why he's being such a jerk! I have never done anything to bother him or annoy him or – I simply don't know!"

For a moment it seemed like Lily was contemplating her daughter's words.

"Since when?" She finally asked.

"What?"

"Since when does that boy harass you?"

"I," Haley had to think that over for a second, "Actually… I think… we've never really got along but… sometime around Christmas last year it started to get bothersome and since then it only got worse. It's almost like he wants me to constantly remember he's there." Haley shuddered at the thought.

"Around Christmas?" Lily asked, like this fact was particularly interesting.

Haley nodded. "Yeah, everyone was busy preparing for the Yule Ball and the git had nothing better to do but annoy the hell out of me! He almost ruined Neville's dress robes!" Neville had been her date for the Yule Ball.

"I see," her mum concluded.

Haley frowned. She turned around to face her.

"What do you mean, ' _you see'_? And why are you grinning like that?" The girl asked, sitting up so she could face her mum properly.

Lily shook her head and cupped her daughter's face in her left hand lovingly.

"You're still so innocent," she cooed, stroking the girl's cheek softly, "Don't you see that he – ah, no, I shouldn't."

"What do you mean, mum? Why won't you tell me?" Haley asked, sounding like a four-year-old.

"I think…" Lily began, biting her lips to keep herself from grinning, "I'm going to tell you a story."

"Now?" Haley asked in confusion. Was now really the time for a story?

"Scoot over," her mum instructed, climbing under the covers and leaning against the headboard next to her daughter.

"Back in fifth year," Lily started her story. She reached out toward Haley's hair and parted it into three equal sections.

"Hey – What are you-?" Haley complained.

"Shush, I'll braid them for you. It'll look beautiful in the morning." As her mum began to braid her hair, she tried to suppress a smile. It had been a while since the last time she had let her mum braid her hair. She would never admit how much she actually liked it. She wasn't five anymore after all.

Her mum knew it anyway.

"As I said, back in fifth year, there was a boy at Hogwarts who would always harass me and bother me and – well he was constantly up in my face, announcing he was there. You'd have to be a troll to miss his presence. It really drove me nuts!"

Haley listened intently. This sounded vaguely familiar.

"What did you do?"

"Well, there were times where I wanted to strangle him just to be finally rid of it all!"

"So… are you saying I should just strangle him?"

Lily was halfway done with the braid. She took a break to look up at her daughter with a little smile.

"As appealing as it may seem," her mum continued, "I'm afraid it wouldn't be all that appropriate. I don't know if I'd be able to bail you out if you actually killed someone," she shrugged, "Anyway, in my case I solved it by finding out the boy's deepest secret."

"A secret? What kind of secret?" Haley wondered curiously. Her mum laughed at that.

"Ah, it wouldn't be nice if I told you that… I might tell you one day. But for now I'm going to tell you a different secret."

Haley blinked in anticipation. Was this secret going to help her?

"I found a way to see what other people are dreaming."

Haley frowned. What was she saying?

"So, long story short, I spied on the boy while he was dreaming and found out about his secret. After I told him, he never bothered me again. Well… mostly. Hair tie?"

"On the bedside table," Haley answered absently, while her mum finished up her braid. It was running down the right sight of her face now, almost reaching her waist.

"Just like that?" She asked skeptically. "Wait – did you say you can see what other people are dreaming? How? Can you see any dream? Have you seen my dreams as well?"

"It's really not that complicated," Lily told her, "Mostly you need to somewhat know the person and have something on you that belongs to the one you want to visit."

"Visit?"

"Well, it's not simply watching the dream. If you do it correctly you can actually take part in it."

"What?" Haley wasn't so sure whether she was dreaming at the moment herself.

"Here." Lily reached into her hair, pulled out a tiny clasp, that looked like a flower with a green stone in the middle, and clipped it onto her daughter's braid.

"Now you have something that belongs to me so you'll be able to visit me in my dreams," she smiled.

"I'll just take… that," Lily plucked Haley's favourite owl bracelet from her bedside table and slipped it around her wrist.

"Hey, that's my favourite!" Haley protested.

"I know, I gave it to you," her mum retorted with a grin.

"And now all that's left to do for you is fall asleep. I'll come get you and explain the rest."

"What?" Haley asked, feeling like she had barely understood half of the things her mum had told her. But Lily had already got up from her bed and was standing at the door.

"Sleep," she ordered, before disappearing out of the room.

…

 _"It was impossible, of course. But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming."_  
_― Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer_

…

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my new Harry Potter AU! If you recognize the concept of visiting people in their dreams, yes, I got that idea from Kerstin Gier's "The Book of Dreams Trilogy". Everything else will be from Harry Potter of course. Oh right and Haley's little brother... Cookies for the people who know from which story I plucked him :) I wonder who that jerk is that torments Haley at school... :D  
> The title is inspired by the song "Walking on a Dream" from Empire of the Sun.  
> Thank you for reading! Leave me your thoughts if you want to :)
> 
> Till next time, Feather


	2. How To Dream

_"All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together."_  
_― Jack Kerouac_

_..._

It's funny how hard falling asleep can be after someone tells you to do so. After what felt like hours Haley finally sunk into a deep sleep.

ooo

I am riding the Hogwarts Express. My godfather Sirius is sitting opposite me.

"Did you hear the latest _Brewing Brothers_ single?" Sirius asks, grinning.

"No," I say, "I didn't know they were doing new stuff."

Sirius fetches a green guitar from the luggage rack and starts to play a catchy tune.

"I love that song," I exclaim, recognizing the notes at once.

" _You've gotta waiiiiit… till the potion is reaaaady….lalala, till my potion is ready foooor youuu!_ "

We sing together. It's slightly off key but we've got too much fun to care about that.

Sirius hands me a bottle that looks suspiciously like it's filled with firewhisky. I'm not really old enough for firewhiskey yet but it's not like mum is around with her eagle eyes.

So I take the bottle and clunk it against my godfather's.

"Cheers!" We cheer at the same time and that's when the compartment door opens.

Weird. There's nobody in the hall! The door closes again but something about the door attracts my attention. It's the handle. The handle looks different from what it normally looks like.

It's silver and has the form of an extended wing. And the wing belongs to an… owl? It looks like the owl is stuck inside the door almost as if the wood has grown around it. From this side I can only see the left wing and the owl's head. Perhaps the right half will be visible from the other side. I stand up to go and check my theory when someone clears their throat behind me.

I turn around to find my mum sitting in the seat that I'd been sitting in only seconds before.

"Firewhiskey?" She asks, with a raised eyebrow.

Merlin! I totally forgot!

"I – I wasn't – Sirius-" I turn to my godfather for help but the seat that I could swear he'd sat in just a moment ago is empty.

I sigh, "Sorry, mum," I place my bottle on top of the little table near the window and take a seat opposite her.

"I wasn't going to drink it..." I mumble under my breath.

"Well, I didn't come here to lecture you about firewhiskey," mum says, "Listen closely now."

She leans toward me and I automatically mimick her posture. Our faces are only inches apart and I feel almost as if I am looking into a mirror. Well… except that she looks older. And she also doesn't have to wear glasses.

"Did you notice something?"

I shake my head no. Mum nods her head toward the compartment door. Perhaps…

"The owl?" I ask. Mum grins as an answer. Then she leans back in her seat and closes her eyes for a second. As soon as they're open again there are prongs on top of her head.

Huh? And her whole body sparkles! Skin, hair, everything! That in itself might be unusual but nothing too extraordinary. We're witches after all.

The crazy thing about this whole spectacle is that I can't see mum's wand anywhere. She did this without using her wand!

"That's – How did you-? Am I dreaming?" I ask rubbing my eyes in disbelief.

"Ten points for Gryffindor!" Mum exclaims. How unusual for her. Normally it's dad who resorts to these Gryffindor themed puns.

Mum grins. The prongs vanish and the only thing that keeps sparkling is her shirt.

"Oh, I like that," she says a little surprised, "Shall we?"

Mum stands from her seat and walks toward the compartment door where she waits for me.

"So… this is a dream?" I wonder, trying to wrap my head around the realisation. It's not the first time I realised I was dreaming while I was dreaming (complicated!) but I still need a moment to take it in. I look around the compartment and see that we're alone now. There's a chocolate frog on the seat to my right. I pick it up and imagine it would be a chocolate owl instead.

Before my eyes the frog sprouts feathers and turns into an owl.

"Woah!" I exclaim as the chocolate owl flies out of the window.

Then I remember parts of my conversation with mum earlier that night. Something about visiting each other…

"Mum? Is that really you?" She nods. "In my dream?" She nods again.

"But how did you-" I begin to say but mum interrupts me.

"I came through the door," she explains, gesturing toward the door. She grips the handle that looks like the owl's wing and pulls open the door.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" I ask in confusion. What's happening here?

Mum reaches for my wrist and pulls me through the door that closes behind us. We're not on the train anymore. Wherever this is, I've never been here before.

It's a kind of corridor. A long hall with doors all around us. And they all look different. The doors, I mean. There are so many colours: green, bottle green, orange, silver, black, burgundy, yellow, red, gold, periwinkle, sky blue, pink, violet…

Some are made of wood others have glass fronts. There are even some out of metal!

"What is this place?" I wonder aloud.

"I like to call it the _dream_ _corridor_."

"Dream corridor…" I repeat and think about the words. Does that really mean-?

"Mum, do all of these doors lead to the dreams… of real people?"

"Yes. Very clever." Her shirt is still sparkling which kind of irritates me. There are so many colours! I slowly turn to the door we've just stepped through.

"Then this must be… " I begin to say but I'm stunned into silence by the sight that is in front of me.

"Your dream door," mum confirms.

"My dream door…" I repeat. I have no idea why I keep repeating mum's words like I'm too stupid to think of my own.

The first thing I see is an explosion of colours. Green mostly. My door looks like a massive painting. But there are no actual shapes recognizable. It's just an abstract splutter of different colours that run into one another. The painting itself is mostly concealed by thick tendrils that wind their way all around the picture. I can spot thorns all over them. It almost seems like the tendrils are embracing the painting in a protective way, as if they're keeping everything that is potentially harmful away. But at the same time it's impossible to see the whole painting like this.

"Why does my door look like that?" I ask no one in particular. I see a white wing peek out from between the thorns. I was right! From this side the other half of the owl is visible.

"Our doors resemble our inner selves," mum answers, "I was surprised, too when I first saw your door."

"Our inner selves," I repeat after my mum again, "but what does that mean?"

Mum looks at my door for a moment. Then she shrugs.

"There are many possible explanations. Perhaps you like painting or colours or thorns or… I don't know… Sleeping Beauty?"

Before I can make a fool out of me and stupidly repeat "Sleeping Beauty", I grab mum's arm and ask her, "What does your door look like?"

Would it be far away? Will we have to travel through endless halls until we would finally reach mum's door? But mum doesn't move an inch. It can't be far then.

I look around and there right next to my door on the left… is that hers? The door is made up of wood that's painted mint green. There's a small, round window in the top half that's surrounded by white lilies which are painted onto the wood. In front of the door on the left side there is a huge bronze cauldron with a steaming liquid inside. It looks… welcoming. Not like my own dream door. Before I can stop myself I walk up to the door and reach for the door handle.

An arm stops me.

"Not so fast," mum admonishes, "Are you wearing the clasp?"

I nod in answer, but she still doesn't let go of my arm. "If you touch that you'll get an electric shock."

I step back.

"Really? Electric shocks?" And I thought my door was aggressive.

"Well I can't have anybody march right into my dreams," mum murmurs.

"So, how do we get in then?" I ask.

Mum reaches for the cauldron but before she can dip her hand into the clear liquid, it turns to fire.

"Mum, watch out!" I grab at her shirt and try to pull her away but she completely ignores me.

She calmly reaches into the cauldron, not even flinching, and fetches a little key from the depths of it.

"Mum?" I whisper hesitantly. She shakes her head and inserts the key into the keyhole. She turns it until we hear a clicking sound and then opens the door. As far as I can tell there was no electricity involved.

"Did you lie about the shocks?" I inquire, frowning at her.

"That's what we needed the key for, dummy," she answers and gestures for me to enter.

"Oh." I'm not sure whether I really understand what mum's talking about but that doesn't stop me from walking through her dream door. Mum follows suit, closing the door behind us.

"It's Hogwarts!" I exclaim, recognizing the grounds and the Big Lake at one glance.

"I used to be a student here, too, you know," mum reminds me. Well, of course I know that. It's not like I'm stupid or anything.

"Come on let's sit by the lake. You must have a lot of questions."

We walk down toward the lake, where a big red blanket appears out of nowhere. Before I can wonder where it has come from, there's a tablet with pastries in the middle of it and next to it a teapot with two teacups.

"Did you do that?" I ask as I sit down on one end of the blanket.

"It's not that hard. All you need is a little practise." Mum sits down opposite me and makes a teacup float into my hand. The teapot floats toward my cup and fills it with a clear liquid.

"Is that water?" I wonder, holding the cup up to my nose and sniffing it. I don't smell anything.

"Try to imagine your favourite drink," mum advises, sipping from her own cup, "Mmm. Strawberry and vanilla lemonade!"

My favourite drink… How about… pumpkin juice? I imagine the orange colour and the slightly thick consistence of pumpkin juice. I take a sip.

"I can't taste anything!"

Mum laughs at me. I really feel the love.

"It's harder than it looks," she says, "try to remember the taste."

When was the last time I drank pumpkin juice? I can't remember. Maybe I should try with another drink? I look at my cup and try to recall the exact taste of the hot chocolate I had earlier in the day. When I'm pretty sure I can actually taste the flavour of chocolate on my tongue I take another sip.

"Woah!" I gasp, "It really tastes like chocolate!"

"Great! Now that we've established what chocolate tastes like let's move on to our main topic. I'm sure you're already bursting with curiosity."

"Right. So, you said I can enter someone's dream only if I have something that belongs to them right?"

Mum nods.

"Why did we need a key then?"

Mum swallows her lemonade before answering, "Well, it's not like it's impossible to obtain a personal object of mine."

"Do many people know about the dream corridor then?"

"I don't think so," she says, "But you can never be careful enough with something as private as your own dreams." That makes sense.

"How exactly does your defense mechanism work?" I need to know that in case I want to visit mum in the future.

Mum sets her cup down. "I told you that the handle is electrified? The key interrupts the electricity and in order to obtain the key you need to fetch the right one from the cauldron first."

"The right one?" Does that mean there is more than just one key?

"Exactly. And they all look the same," mum confirms with one raised eyebrow.

"But then how-?"

"The cauldron allows people to find the right key only if their intentions aren't malicious. Otherwise…"

"What would happen otherwise?"

"I imagine the fire would burn their hands. Or they'd get an electric shock." Mum says without batting an eye.

Woah. She can be really scary sometimes.

"So basically I just need a personal object and I need to get past whatever is guarding the dream door in order to visit someone in their dreams?"

"Correct," mum agrees, "And on top of that well…" Mum vanishes into thin air. Then she reappears a second later with her whole body sparkling again. I jump back in surprise.

"You can also do cool stuff like this," she says, grinning.

" _Mum!_ _Could you give me a warning the next time you decide to turn yourself into a human disco ball?_ " She stops sparkling. But she looks a little disappointed.

"Fine. The shirt," I relent. And just a second later her shirt is sparkling again.

"Mum?"

"Yes, poppet?"

"Why is your dream door right next to mine?"

"I noticed that even in our dreams we are surrounded by the people who are closest to us."

"Does that mean… that all the doors we saw… belong to people who are close to us?"

"Yes. In one way or another."

That's interesting. I can't wait to really explore all the doors in the dream corridor.

Mum gives me a look, that tells me she knows exactly what I'm thinking about. She squints her eyes at me.

"No more exploring tonight," she instructs.

"But _mum_ – I mean – I mean – ugh. _Why?_ "

"You need to be well-rested for tomorrow."

I frown. "What do you mean _well-rested_? I _am_ resting! And I'm gonna be on the train most of the day anyway."

Mum raises one eyebrow at me in amusement. "You'll see," is all she says.

"Wow, thanks. I know exactly what you're talking about," I reply with a snort.

Mum gets up. "I'll take you back to your own dream."

She leads the way and there's nothing for me to do but follow her.

"Why are we walking toward Hagrid's hut?" I wonder, recognizing the little hut. But after a closer look I notice that the handle looks different. Delicate leaves and lilies are carved into the bronze door knob, that doesn't seem to fit the heavy wooden door at all.

As soon as we get to the door mum opens it. It leads us right to the dream corridor! As we step into the hall I glance at all the doors longingly. Mum is already at my door, waiting for me.

"I'm just going to look around a bit," I say in my sweetest, most innocent voice.

But to my disappointment, it has stopped working on her a long time ago.

"You can look around another time," she says resolutely.

"You're no fun," I mutter, as I reach my door.

"What?" Mum says in a hurt tone, "You think a human disco ball is no fun?"

She starts her one-woman sparkling show again and I almost laugh. Almost.

I reach for the owl wing and open my dream door. I can always wait until she's back inside her own dream. Then I'll finally get to properly take a look around.

"Don't worry I'll stand watch!" That's the last thing I hear before my door closes behind me. So much for exploring… Well, she won't be standing in front of my door the whole night, right?

How nice would it be to have one of those soft and cuddly armchairs from the Gryffindor common room right here. As soon as I think it an armchair appears in front of me! This dream thing is awesome!

How long will I have to wait? It's hard to tell time when you're asleep. It feels like ten minutes have passed, so I decide to check if mum is still outside.

I tiptoe over to my door and slowly push down the handle. I open the door and find… nothing but an empty corridor! Yes! That means I have all the time in the world to explore the-

ooo

"Haley... Haley..."

"What-where am I? Where's the corridor? What-?" Haley spluttered as she woke up with a start.

"Mum?" She asked hesitantly. Someone had been whispering her name in her sleep. And from the looks of it it had been her mum, who was kneeling in front of her bed, touching one of Haley's shoulders.

"Did you wake me?" Haley asked in disbelief.

"Yes," she answered without hesitation, "It was the only way to keep you out of the corridor for now."

Haley scowled. This was not fair! All she wanted to do was take a look around!

"I'll come to wake you in about three hours," Lily informed her, "And if you see your dream door, don't get any ideas okay? Trust me on this."

Haley sighed. "Fine," she agreed.

"Thank you," Lily whispered with a smile. She gently tucked the sheets in around her body and brushed some stray locks away from her face.

" _Mum,_ " Haley groaned in annoyance. She wasn't a little kid anymore! But if she was honest, it _was_ kind of nice. She felt safe and warm and loved. And a little embarrassed, maybe but who was there to judge her?

"Goodnight, Haley," Lily said, kissing her cheek softly.

"Night mum," Haley whispered back as she got into a comfortable position.

Lily got up and walked over to the door. "I'm not going to check on you," she said quietly, before vanishing out of the door. She didn't even wait for an answer! It wasn't necessary.

It basically meant Lily trusted her to keep her word. And there was little more that Haley hated than to disappoint her mum. Well, the dream corridor wasn't going to run away, was it?

With that thought in mind Haley closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come.

…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So now you hopefully have an idea how the whole dreaming thing works! I hope the whole POV and tense change is not too confusing but I wanted to create a different feel for the dream world and the real world. Next chapter it's time to get back to Hogwarts! Thank you so much for reading and leaving comments and kudos! It really means a lot! 
> 
> Till next time, Feather :)


	3. The Poster of Myron Wagtail

_"Dreams are illustrations...from the book your soul is writing about you."_  
_― Marsha Norman, The Fortune Teller_

_..._

"Here."

Haley found herself with a new pair of fingerless quidditch gloves. Technically the gloves weren't new, seeing as they used to belong to her brother Simon but…

"Why are you giving me your old quidditch gloves?" Haley asked Simon, while they were waiting in front of the barrier that lead to platform 9 ¾. Their parents were somewhere on the platform, busily talking to some of their old friends from school.

"Yesterday you said that someone at school was bullying you," her brother stated.

" _Yes_ ," Haley said, drawing out the _e_. Where was he going with this?

"Do you remember, when I told you about that mean boy from our rival team who always kicked me off my broomstick for fun?"

Haley scowled at the reminder. "Yes," she said lowly, "How could I forget that little brat that always harassed my baby brother?"

"I'm not your ba– well anyway, when I told you what did you do?"

"You mean when you came to me crying your little eyes out?"

"Haley!" Simon shouted angrily. He even stomped his foot on the ground.

"Fine. I'll be nice," she relented.

"So?" Simon urged, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Well since you're a helpless child and everything, I hexed your quidditch gloves for you. It was so cool! They gave off electric shocks and stuff."

"Exactly," Simon said, nodding eagerly. He was trying to tell her something. But Haley was at a loss. She inspected the gloves closely.

"But didn't you say the spell had worn off?" She asked.

"Well, I did say that…"

"But?"

"Maybe it wasn't the whole truth?" Simon said, sounding like he was asking a question.

"You lied?" Haley asked in astonishment.

"Well, mum was going to take them away, once she found out about the electric shocks… What was I supposed to do?" He retorted defiantly.

Haley blinked at her brother in wonder. Then she started to laugh heartily.

"Merlin, Simon," she gasped, "I didn't know you had it in you. I'm impressed. Does dad know?"

Simon glanced over his shoulder where their parents were standing, still engaged in their conversation.

"It was actually his idea," he admitted quietly.

Haley laughed again. Her family was the best entertainment. Once she had calmed down from her laughing fit she stored the gloves safely inside her bag.

"Thank you, Simon. I'm going to miss you!" She exclaimed, as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"I can't breeeaaathe!" Her brother wailed.

"I don't caaaare," Haley sang, echoing his tone. After another moment she finally released him.

"Love you, baby bro," she said, as she gave him a loud smack on the cheek.

" _Haley!_ " Simon protested. Haley ruffled his hair fondly.

"What's taking them so long?" She wondered, looking around for their parents. Where had they gone now? She couldn't see them anymore.

Simon turned around to look for them as well. "Oooh, it's your _boyfriend,_ " her brother said in a mocking tone.

Haley hit him on the shoulder. "He's not my boyfriend," she hissed, as soon as she'd spotted the Longbottoms who were making their way over to the two siblings.

"Well, not anymore," Haley mumbled, glancing over at Neville Longbottom sheepishly.

She had always had a crush on the boy with the sandy blond hair and the round face. There was always a kind smile on his face and he had a really strong sense of justice. Haley found that extremely attractive. His eyes were an intense shade of blue. Sky blue. When the sun shone brightly. He _was_ like the sun, always putting a smile onto her face.

He caught her gaze and waved at her, smiling widely. Haley felt herself blushing. She removed the hair tie from her high ponytail and let her auburn locks flow over her shoulders freely. They were framing her face in a nice, curly way. In her mind she thanked her mum for braiding her hair the night before. It also had the added effect of shielding her face from too observant eyes.

"Haley, hi!" Neville greeted her, pulling her into an embrace, "How are you?"

"I'm – great! Thank you! I -"

He was pulling away and his face was surprisingly close to hers. She remembered what it felt like to kiss him.

Simon snorted.

Haley took a step back. She had to remind herself that she was over him.

"Shut up," she hissed at her brother, elbowing him lightly.

"Hi Simon!" Neville greeted her brother and raising his hand. Simon high-fived him.

"Neville! Your grandma already went ahead to the platform. We should hurry or you won't have enough time to say bye," said Mrs Longbottom, who had just arrived next to them together with Neville's dad, "Hello Haley, dear, did you have good holidays? And is that you, Simon? The last time I saw you you were barely as tall as our dining table."

"Well, I-" Simon started to answer but Mrs Longbottom interrupted him.

"In case you're looking for your parents, they were right behind us but it seems they were held up by one of your dad's former quidditch colleagues. Well... I'm sure they'll be here soon. Come now, Neville, your grandma..." She trailed of, glancing over toward the barrier that lead to platform 9 ¾.

"I guess it's time," Neville said, "See you on the other side."

He vanished through the barrier, followed by his parents and Haley tried not to watch him go. She sighed. Simon patted her shoulder in support. Why was he that tall? The top of his head already reached her chin!

"Didn't you say you were over him?" He asked.

"I am," Haley insisted. She had asked Neville out before the Yule Ball last year and they had been dating ever since. Everything had been great for the first two or three months but then…

One day Neville had told her, he didn't feel ready to be in a committed relationship just then. He'd said that he cherished their friendship too much to ruin it over a romantic relationship. And if they still wanted to they would have enough time to try again later.

It had come completely out of the blue. And to say it bluntly, Haley had been crushed. But she had accepted it. And she had gotten over it. It was okay when other people were around but being alone with Neville? Being so close to him? That was hard.

But she could do it. It helped that the boys at Hogwarts weren't afraid to show her that there were definitely a lot of them interested in being her boyfriend. She knew what her shiny long hair and her sparkling, green eyes did to them. She looked like her mum after all!

It helped. But it wasn't always enough.

"Quick now," her mum shooed, she had appeared next to them, with their dad in tow, "I don't want you to miss the train!" Haley tried not to roll her eyes in annoyance. It wasn't like she was the one who hadn't be able to stop bragging about her glorious quidditch days.

"That's right! I'm not calling your godfather again so that he can give you a ride in his motorcycle! That seat is reserved for me!" Her dad chimed in.

"Got it," Haley mumbled, chuckling softly. Riding in Sirius' motorcycle was awesome! Maybe she should delay her departure on purpose. She could fake an injury or something.

"Haley Potter! Don't you dare even think of it!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Haley mumbled, as she, too vanished through the barrier. It was a shame how well her dad knew her. She had been learning from the best after all. He had been the one to teach her all the tricks.

…

The train ride was uneventful. Haley caught up with her friends Hermione and Ron, ate her own weight in Bertie Bott's Beans and tried not to let Hermione's worrying about the OWLs affect her too much. It was a beautiful day really. Not too cold and the sun was shining. Haley had almost forgotten about the reason why she had been this reluctant to return to Hogwarts in the first place.

Almost. She had been about to exit the train when somebody came up behind her and pushed her right out of the train. She landed on the platform on her hands and knees, getting bruises all over them.

"HEY!" She angrily yelled at the person that had pushed her.

"It's not my fault you can't even exit a train like a proper human being," drawled Draco Malfoy, as he nimbly hopped off the train.

"You pushed me, you slimy little-" Haley started to say, sitting up slowly.

"Leave her alone!" Neville screamed, interrupting her.

"What are you going to do about it?" Malfoy asked condescendingly, "Throw a geranium at me?"

Malfoy left the scene, but Haley could still hear him cackling along with his cronies.

Haley sighed. She hated feeling so weak. Why couldn't she have thrown a hex at him? Or at least insult him properly? She had fought back in the beginning of course but at some point… she'd kind of given up. It was all too much. And why was the git always picking on her in the first place?

"Are you okay?" Neville asked, holding out his hand to her. Haley took his hand and let him help her up.

"Yeah," she breathed looking at her hand, that Neville was still holding, inspecting it for injuries.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"It's fine," Haley said, pulling her hand from his grasp. She wasn't going to make this harder than it had to be. "Where are Ron and Hermione?" She asked, looking for them in the crowd.

"There you are," Hermione said, as she was running toward them, "We were looking for you. Ron already found us a carriage. Did you fall down?" She added, after she'd noticed the scratches on her hands.

"Malfoy," was all she offered but it was enough for Hermione to understand what had happened.

"Slimy bastard," Hermione hissed, "Come on, let's get you to the castle."

Hermione put an arm around her and with Neville in tow they made their way toward the carriages where Ron was already waiting.

…

Before Haley went to bed that night, she made sure to put her mum's clasp in her hair. And she squeezed her hand into one of her brother's gloves for good measure. It was a tight fit but luckily her hands were fairly small. She would be able to explore the dream corridor tonight! Haley was almost too excited to fall asleep. She took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes.

**ooo**

I'm in my room back at home, playing a game of chess with Simon on my bed. I capture his queen with one of my four knights.

"Check," I say with a grin. Simon is rubbish at chess.

My brother captures my king with a chocolate frog.

"Checkmate," he says triumphantly. Wow, I've never been defeated by a chocolate frog. Well, he said 'checkmate', so I guess I've lost.

Simon gets up from my bed and dances happily through my room. Is this the first time he's won against me? As I follow him with my eyes, I notice something strange on my door. Instead of my normal door handle there is the left half of an owl on my door. It's the door to the dream corridor! I must be dreaming! I quickly walk toward the door and open it.

Just like yesterday night, the corridor is there. Like it's been waiting for me all along.

There's mum's door to the right. And to the left… I walk over to the door and glance at it quickly. It looks like a bakery. There are pastries and sweets behind the glass front. A broomstick is leaning against the door and all over the glass front it says in scraggy letters:

_Simon's_ _Sweets and Scones._

Even without the writing I would've recognized my little brother's door without a second glance. I smile at his door fondly. I'm wearing his glove… I could take a look inside right now.

But first I want to see more of the corridor. There is one door that I am especially curious about. I wander along the corridor, making a game out of guessing whose door I may be passing along the way.

There is a door made of books instead of wood (I wonder who that one belongs to. Not really, just kidding. That door _screams_ Hermione.) and another that seems to be half tree, half door. (Neville probably.) Another door looks like it is the entrance to a castle or something. I wonder how far I'll have to go until I find Draco Malfoy's door. What would it look like?

It's hard to tell how long I've been wandering around already. Has it been hours? Despite my earlier beliefs it's not just one long corridor but a whole maze with many different halls and after every turn I wonder whether I'll find my way back to my own dream door again. Maybe it's time to go back and look again more closely.

Otherwise I'd wake up before I even found Malfoy's door. I turn around and try to trace my steps back. I only took right turns, so it shouldn't be too hard to find my way back.

After a while I see something familiar. It's a brightly coloured door with a huge package next to it that's blinking wildly and has the word _SURPRISE_ written across it. The door next to that looks almost the same but the colours are more subdued and not as flashy. Fred and George. One day – or better night – I want to find out what kind of dreams are hiding behind those two doors.

Only a few doors further ahead I can spot my own door and the roses and tendrils that surround it. Before I can reach it my eyes catch on another door.

It's the one with the two big, black doors, that looks like the entrance to a castle. I stop to inspect it more carefully. On the right door there is a heavy knocker that looks like it's a snake made of silver. The snake's eyes seem to be glistening emeralds. Is this the door I've been looking for?

But the left door doesn't fit in with the image. There is a big poster of the _Weird_ _Sisters_ pinned all over it and in front of it leans an acoustic guitar. Malfoy doesn't play the guitar. And he sure as hell isn't a fan of the _Weird_ _Sisters_. But what if… that really is his door? I need something that belongs to Malfoy. Otherwise I'll never find out whether this really is his door or not.

"Who are you and what are you doing in front of my master's door?"

I freeze at the spot. Who said that? I look around but I can't find the owner of the voice.

"Up here," the voice says and I try not to snort, as I realise that Myron Wagtail, the lead singer of the _Weird Sisters_ is talking to me. Well, at least the poster version of him.

Is this Malfoy's subconsciousness talking? What a weird thought. Maybe now is the moment to disguise myself somewhat. After all, I don't know how much of this Malfoy actually perceives. I imagine myself with a big, dark hood, that completely covers my face. It turns dark in front of me. There, that wasn't too hard. But now I can't see anything myself. I imagine a little window that allows me to see through the hood without other people seeing my face. Did it work? I can see fine now. I reach for the fabric in front of my face. I can still touch it. I guess it must have worked then.

"I'm a friend," I say in a low voice, "What's the key to open Draco Malfoy's dream door?"

It's a trick question. I don't expect the guard to tell me about the actual key but I might be able to confirm whether this is his door or not.

"Ha ha ha," Myron Wagtail laughs, "You don't expect me to let just anybody into my master's dreams? That's not the right _tune."_

Had it really been that easy? Malfoy must be more stupid than I'd given him credit for. Well, until I got a personal object from him, I can't be sure. And then there is also the _tune_ thing.

"What do you mean, "tune"?" I ask innocently.

"Ha ha ha," the singer laughs again, "I'm not gonna tell you the right tune. Do I look stupid?"

Actually, you do. I barely refrain myself from saying that out loud. While he said "tune" I noticed his eyes straying toward the guitar briefly. Does that mean I have to play something on the guitar to get in? Interesting.

"That's too bad," I reply, feigning disappointment, "I guess I won't be able to get in after all."

Myron Wagtail nods and smiles at me sweetly. I get the impression that it's not genuine.

"Well, go along your way then," he says, waving me away.

"Good night, Myron," I say, as I turn around and make my way back to my own dream door.

I have found out enough for now. It doesn't take long to reach my door. As I reach for the door handle I try not to wonder what it means that Malfoy's dream door is this close to mine.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you a lot for reading and commenting and leaving me kudos :) (Btw am I the only one who always thinks of 'Shinichi Kudo' when I read the word kudos'?) I had no idea how students get back to Hogwarts after winter break. Is it by train? Well, that's what I went with anyway. If you're following my other fics you probably know this already but I'll write it again here. I'm starting my thesis fairly soon so I don't know how often I get to update. I'll try not to make you wait too long and I would love to hear your thoughts! Also feel free to share ideas for dreams that would be fun.
> 
> Have fun and keep reading, Feather :)


	4. A Terrible Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: ...ooo... This signals the beginning or end of a dream.

* * *

_"DEATH: "Mostly they aren't too keen to see me. They fear the sunless lands. But they enter your realm each night without fear."_

_MORPHEUS: "And I am far more terrible than you, sister."_  
_― Neil Gaiman, Preludes & Nocturnes_

_..._

_"Is that me?,' Leo said. 'Like me-having this dream-looking at me having a dream?"_  
_― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero_

* * *

"Okay. And make sure to take something not too obvious. Something he won't notice right away." Haley told Ron in a conspiratorial tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Why exactly are we doing that again?" The red-head asked absently.

"Revenge! I told you. Quick now, he's coming!" Haley whispered, shooing her friend away so that now she was the only person standing in front of the potions class room. Most of their class mates hadn't arrived yet but from the corridor behind her Haley could hear a group of Slytherins make their way over to them. How did she know they were Slytherins? Well for one, their laughter never sounded particularly friendly. And for another… she had seen them a second ago.

Now, she couldn't see them, as she was standing with her back towards them. It was an uncomfortable feeling, not being able to see what was coming… As a Gryffindor, shouldn't she find it thrilling? Waiting for the inevitable and getting ready for a figh-

"Hey Potter," drawled the voice of the most awful person Haley knew, "How cute. Have you been waiting for _me_?" The voice was getting closer and closer until…

A hand grabbed her left shoulder, turning her around roughly. But she was prepared.

Before Malfoy could do as much as squeak (not that he would ever squeak but…) Haley sank to the ground, pulling him down with her forcefully.

"What the-?" He began to say but the git was already lying on the ground, only a few feet away from her. Haley looked for his school bag. Damn. It was lying on the ground right next to Malfoy.

She sighed. It was no use. With a whispered " _Depulso"_ she made his bag slide over to where Ron was standing.

Had Malfoy noticed something? No. He was too busy rubbing his elbow in annoyance.

"Potter you utter-" Malfoy said as he got into a sitting position. But Haley would never hear the rest of the insult. She couldn't let him get up before Ron had completed their mission. So she jumped on top of him. That's when Malfoy squeaked.

"Get off me, Potter!" He yelled angrily, trying to push her off him. But she didn't move an inch, sitting on his stomach and gripping his wrists tightly.

"Not until you've promised you won't bother me anymore!" Haley insisted. Her long braid was hovering directly over Malfoys face, tickling him. He freed his right hand from her grip and swatted her hair away in annoyance.

Malfoy chuckled mockingly. "You wish," he sneered, and rolled them around in a swift move so that he was the one on top, pressing her arms to the floor. The look he gave her was so intense, that Haley feared he was going to punch her. She knew what her dad would have done in that situation: He would have smiled and punched the git before he'd have a chance to hit him. And her mum? She would have met his gaze head on, daring him to do his worst. Never showing the hint of fear like a true Gryffindor. As much as Haley wanted to make her parents proud, she couldn't do either of those. Instead she closed her eyes tightly and turned her face away in fear like a coward. Malfoy's grip on her arms loosened considerably.

"I wasn't going to hit you, idiot," he said quietly, sounding almost appalled. At the tone of his voice Haley had to open her eyes and see what was going on for herself. He was frowning at her like he found the mere suggestion ridiculous. What the hell? Now, he was a guy with principles or what? Pushing her out of a train was okay but he wasn't going to punch her?

"Get off her, you git!" A voice called, and a second later someone was pulling the Slytherin away from her.

"Get your filthy hands off me, Longbottom!"

 _Neville_ , Haley thought in relief. Then her eyes widened in alarm. No, no, no, this was bad! What if Ron hadn't found a suitable object yet?

"Wait!" She yelled, holding onto Malfoy's arm, before he could get up fully.

"What now, Potter!" Malfoy hissed, sounding irritated.

"I-" She opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything useful to say.

"Is there a problem?" A deep voice asked, with a threatening undertone.

Haley hadn't even heard the bell, but it seemed Professor Snape had arrived already.

"No, there is no problem at all, sir," Malfoy said calmly after he had got up. As she let Neville help her up, Haley saw, that Professor Snape was eyeing the Slytherin suspiciously.

"Is that true?" He asked with a look in Haley's direction. She was tempted to say _no,_ and see how the little git was trying to worm himself out of the situation. But she wouldn't sink down to his level. Not if she could help it.

"Yes," she said, with a smile, "we had a little misunderstanding but it's all resolved now."

"If you say so," Professor Snape drawled in a disinterested voice. Haley had to hold back a grin. Although Malfoy was in Professor Snape's house, he had never taken his side when he had found him fighting with her. And Malfoy had long ago stopped trying to manipulate him into punishing her. It had never ended in his favour anyway. Haley didn't know why but for some reason Professor Snape liked her. Or maybe _tolerated_ was the better word. It had not always been like that. In the beginning she had even thought he disliked her more than he seemed to dislike students in general. (Students that were not Slytherins anyway.)

But Haley had always had an exceptional talent for potions. (Her mum was a genius where potions were concerned and Haley had grown up watching her brew one fascinating potion after another. Once she had been old enough to help it had become something the two witches regularly did together.)

She suspected it was the fact that she liked potions so much that made him respect her. On the other hand Malfoy, was quite talented in the subject as well… So there had to be another reason.

With a _boom_ the doors to the potions class room opened and Snape entered, his robes billowing behind him like a cape. The Gryffindors and Slytherins followed him quickly.

Where was Ron? Haley tried to make her friend out among her fellow students. There he was, already entering the class room with Hermione. But where was Malfoy's bag? Ah, she spotted it… hanging over Malfoy's shoulder. He was glaring at her disdainfully, but she ignored him. As she walked into the dungeon she hoped Ron had enough time to carry out their plan.

During the lesson she didn't dare question him about it because Malfoy was hovering around their table every now and then. There was no doubt he was looking for an opportunity to mess up her potion. She couldn't let her cauldron out of her sight for more than a few seconds, she had to keep an eye on Malfoy and on top of that she had to make sure not to mess up her potion herself.

It was more than a little stressful. But at the end of the lesson, she corked up a flask of her finished Invigoration Draught and walked up to Professor Snape's table to hand in her potion with a triumphant grin.

"Watch out!" Someone shouted near her. Haley turned around, to find Neville crash into her forcefully. With her right hand she managed to hold onto a nearby table, preventing them from falling over.

"Sorry," Neville apologized, "I stumbled – I – I don't know where that bag came from. I swear it wasn't there a second ago."

"It's fine," Haley assured him, now that she was slowly getting used to his presence again, it was easier to talk to the boy, "Let me just-"

Haley stared at her left hand in shock. Where was her potion? She didn't have to look for long to find it: Glass splinters and a sad puddle on the floor. Haley inhaled deeply. That was no problem at all. She would simply go back to her cauldron and fill up another bottle.

Except her cauldron was empty.

"No, no, no, that can't be. That can't-" Haley's throat began to tighten up. She looked up in search of one face in particular. Malfoy was packing up his things. The git had surely handed in his potion already. There was a disgustingly amused grin on his face that made Haley growl in anger. He wasn't even looking at her, which made it all the more evident. It had been him. All of it. She knew it. But she couldn't prove it.

She balled her hands to fists. There was a burning sensation behind her eyes. _Not now_ , she thought. This was all so unfair! But the git didn't know what was coming for him.

"Just you wait," she whispered angrily. She was going to show him what she was capable of. It was time to fight back.

…

Over dinner, Haley finally got around to asking Ron about their mission.

"So, did you find something?" She asked eagerly.

"I-" Ron replied, "There wasn't much. The usual stuff you know? Quills, rolls of parchment, and loads of sweets… That bloke has a massive sweet tooth. Guess he has to make up for his own lack of sweetness somehow." He laughed roaringly, helping himself to a big bowl of chocolate pudding.

"And?" Haley urged. She twirled the end of her braid around her fingers in anticipation. She couldn't even eat.

"I also found some crumpled notes that looked interesting but there wasn't enough time to go through them."

" _Ron_ ," she groaned impatiently, "Wasn't there anything _useful_?"

"Oh, right," he replied, catching up on her impatient tone, "I don't know if that's what you were looking for but..." He trailed off, fetching something from the pocket of his robes and placing it on the table in front of Haley. It was a green gobstone. A glinting gobstone with a hole in the middle and a dark leather band that was going through it.

"A gobstone?" Haley asked in surprise. She had expected something more spectacular.

Ron shrugged. "You told me, to take something he wouldn't miss right away,"

"Yeah," Haley whispered, turning the gobstone around in her hands experimentally. What did Malfoy carry a gobstone around for? And why the leather band?

"You definitely found it in his bag, right?" She asked.

Ron nodded in confirmation.

"Then that's enough," she said more to herself, as she slipped the gobstone into her pocket. If Malfoy saw her tinkering around with his gobstone, her whole plan would have been for naught.

Although it was unlikely that he'd be able to make out the gobstone from all the way across the Great Hall, she didn't want to risk it.

"Are you going to tell us about your plan now?" Hermione asked. She was sitting opposite Haley and had quietly listened.

"Soon," Haley said vaguely. She would have told Ron but she was reluctant to tell Hermione. It was very likely that her friend would try to talk her out of her plan. She certainly wouldn't support a plan that involved spying on other people's dreams.

Hermione eyed her suspiciously. "It's nothing that goes against the rules, is it? Or something dangerous?"

"Hermione you worry too much," said Ron, coming to her rescue, "You know Haley. She wouldn't do something like _that_. Her mum is almost as strict as mine!"

Haley snorted. She couldn't help it. Her mum was strict indeed. But that didn't mean she wasn't above breaking a few rules every now and then. Hermione didn't look convinced.

"Exactly," Haley said, as she placed a slice of blueberry pie onto her plate. She picked up a piece with her fork and brought it up to her mouth. It tasted delicious.

"I wouldn't do something like that," she continued nonchalantly. A few blueberries had tumbled out of her pie. "Not even to Malfoy," She whispered, as she crushed the blueberries with her fork.

…

It was even harder to fall asleep this time around although she had felt inexplicably tired all day. Haley couldn't wait to finally be able to get back at Malfoy. She even resorted to counting hippogriffs! At 3840 hippogriffs she started to get frustrated, as she was still as awake as 10 minutes before. For the umpteenth time Haley checked, whether the leather band was still tied around her wrist (it was long enough to fit around her wrist three times!). In case she wanted to visit her mum or her brother, she was also wearing one of Simon's gloves and her mum's clasp. She was ready. Now there was nothing left to do but fall asleep…

**...ooo...**

There are hippogriffs all over the dorm. Two are sitting calmly on my bed. What the hell?

"You still haven't reached 4000 yet," a hippogriff informs me as I start to scramble to my feet. What do I do? What do I do? Hermione! I jump over toward my friend's bed and throw the bed curtains open. The scream dies in my throat as I spot the hippogriff that is sleeping in Hermione's bed instead of her.

I have to get out of here! I have to reach the door! Quickly. But there are about ten hippogriffs blocking my way. How am I supposed to get past them? Maybe I could try jumping. Who knows. It might work. I get myself ready for the jump of my life and soaaaaaar over the hippogriffs like a paper plane. It's a fun experience. Almost like a dream…

I land in front of the door that leads out of the dorms when suddenly the door starts to open.

Who could it be? As I wait for it to open completely I notice that the door handle looks funny. Kind of like an owl…

"Am I dreaming?" I whisper to myself. Then I am faced with the curious gaze of my mother.

"Mum!" I exclaim happily. I'm always happy to see her. But even more so, when there is a horde of hippogriffs occupying my dorm room.

"Have you been counting hippogriffs?" Mum asks, as she enters the room. I pout. I was just going to leave.

"How do you know?" I ask in return.

"We've all been there," she answers, closing the door behind her.

"Mum," I whine, "I was just about to-"

"Go and snoop around in other people's dreams?" Mum completes my sentence.

"Um..."

She chuckles in amusement. "Let's sit down for a moment," she suggests. Before I can argue that there is no room because the dorm is bursting with hippogriffs, she makes them vanish with a wave of her hand. Amazing.

We sit down on the bed that is closest to us. She's not going to try and talk me out of my plan, is she? After all it was _her_ idea.

"Haley, love," mum starts to say and takes one of my hands gently, "I want you to remember that whatever it is you're going to find out, it's still a dream in the end. And dreams don't always show us the truth. Sometimes they show us our wishes or desires or even our fears. And no matter what you're going to see or whose dream you're visiting, you need to consider carefully what you're going to do with the information you acquired. You need to remember that dreams are a very private thing that sometimes represent us in our most vulnerable moments."

"So basically you're telling me not to abuse my power," I state in a rather unimpressed way.

Mum watches me for a moment, then nods.

"Yes. Basically that," she says, "But even though I'm telling you all that it doesn't mean I don't trust you."

I squint my eyes at her. Really? It didn't sound like she trusts me at all.

"Would I have told you about this in the first place if I didn't trust you to be responsible enough?"

Mum asks as she pinches my nose. I stand up to get out of her reach.

"And Haley?"

" _Yes_ ," I say slowly. I'm starting to get impatient.

"If you're confused about what you might find out you can always come and talk to me about it. My door is always open." Her smile is so warm, that I get the urge to throw myself into her arms and let her brush my hair and tell me stories. But I don't have the time for that. So I just nod.

"Haley?" She calls again, just as I'm opening the door.

"What now?"

Mum raises an eyebrow at me and eyes me sceptically. "Are you really going to go like that?"

I look down at myself. Shit. I'm still wearing my night gown! I'll be damned if I turn up inside Malfoy's dream dressed in nothing but a thin night gown!

"While you're at it, you might as well disguise yourself properly. Why don't you try to make yourself look like another person?"

That's a brilliant idea. But whose face should I pick?

"Like who?" I ask.

"How about… Neville?" Mum suggests with a sly smirk.

"No!" I almost yell. I'd probably be able to pull it off, since I know his face so well. But… I'd rather not use his appearance for this.

"Isn't there anyone you've always wanted to look like?" Mum asks curiously. And then I know.

I've always wanted to look like _her_ once. I close my eyes and concentrate hard on the picture in my mind.

"Who is that?" Mum asks in confusion as she looks at my new appearance.

I look down at my long and sleek black hair. It's like silk.

"Cho Chang," I answer, "She's the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts. Everyone wants to look like her."

"Really?" Mum asks. I nod. She's even more beautiful than me. That's at least what Dean Thomas said during a game of Truth or Dare last year.

"Well, she's definitely pretty," mum muses, "And she looks nothing like you."

"That's the whole point of it," I agree with her.

"She's really cute now that I think about it."

" _Mum_ , _I'm_ your daughter. You're supposed to say that to _me_!"

Mum doesn't say anything for a moment. Then she mutters, "You have enough people telling you that. If you're not careful your ego might grow as big as your dad's."

" _But mum_ ," I argue as she opens the door and walks out into the dream corridor.

"Weren't you planning on doing some stalking?" Mum asks. I follow her through the door just as she is about to enter her own dream door.

"Besides that, beauty comes from the inside," mum winks at me and is gone a second later.

The corridor feels lonely without her cheerfulness. But it doesn't matter much since I'm not planning on staying here for very long.

I look back toward my door with the painting and the thorns. How did mum get in there anyway? I don't even know my own defence mechanism! If I even have one. I'll have to come up with a riddle or something. Just in case. But for now there is something else to do.

I turn left and walk down the corridor past my brother's door and a handful others. Then I finally reach it. Draco Malfoy's dream door.

Myron Wagtail, the lead singer of the Weird Sisters, looks at me suspiciously. Well, the poster version of him anyway.

"Who are you and what are you doing in front my master's dream door?" He inquires importantly.

"What's your favourite song?" I ask the singer innocently. I've thought about this a lot. If I'm right the singer is going to be stupid enough to tell me the right "tune" himself.

"Well, I don't want to boast or anything buuuut", Myron singsongs, "I do enjoy the majority of our music. And some of our new tunes are really catchy, you know. People love them. They go absolutely crazy about the hippo-" He stops himself and turns accusing eyes at me.

"This is a trick! You're trying to trick me into telling you about the right tune that opens my master's door! But I'm not that stupid. I'm not!"

I barely stifle a laugh. To be honest, I actually like the Weird Sisters but this guy is seriously bonkers! He somewhat reminds me of that portrait of Sir Cadogan.

I reach for the acoustic guitar that's leaning against the door and strum over each string once.

It sounds beautiful. But maybe that's just my imagination. This dreaming thing is so confusing.

It's stupid to try this because this is the most obvious song of the Weird Sister's he could have chosen. But I've never thought Malfoy was one of the cleverest wizards.

I position the fingers of my left hand on the strings and play the notes of the chorus. It's the part where it goes _"Can you dance like a hippogr_ _i_ _ff? Ma ma ma. Ma ma ma. Ma ma ma."_ And so on. Once I'm done with the chorus I look up at the poster expectantly.

Myron seems to be enjoying my performance. But then he shakes his head sadly.

"Nice try," he says, "you're welcome to try again. I do enjoy your _tune._ "

Hm. Should I try a different song? Or maybe the guitar solo from the _Hippogr_ _i_ _ff_ song?

I decide to try the solo. But it's hard with an acoustic guitar that's not magically enhanced.

In my mind I go through the solo part and place my fingers on the strings. It's a really tricky solo but I've been practising it nearly a hundred times with Sirius. Just for fun. And also because it's a cool solo. In the middle of the solo my fingers land on the wrong string and it's ruined. The singer looks at me like I've just insulted him.

"What was _that_?" He asks in bewilderment.

I flex my fingers and get ready to play the solo one more time. It's a tiny bit too slow but beside that it's flawless.

"That wasn't half as impressive as I would have performed it buuuuut," Myron singsongs, "I do like your tune, sooo… I guess you can enter."

"Really?" I have to ask. I don't feel like having my hand electrified or anything once I touch the door knob.

"Yes," he replies and nods at me approvingly.

Cool. I put the guitar back and reach for the handle. There's no turning back now.

With baited breath I pull open the right door. Then I walk in.

…

I don't know what I expected but I certainly thought it would be more spectacular than that.

I'm in the dungeons at Hogwarts. In front of me I can see a crowd of students who are standing around something. As I get closer I notice that they are standing around _someone._ And that someone is myself. And I am sitting on top of Malfoy who is lying on the ground. Malfoy tries to struggle free. Just like he did this afternoon. At some point he rolls me over and- No, wait. Not _me_. I am merely standing here, watching the whole scene. Looking like Cho Chang. This is so confusing. So... he rolls my doppelgänger over until he's the one on top. He looks at her angrily and I know what's going to happen next. My doppelgänger will close her eyes and turn her face away in fear.

I don't want to see that. But I want to know if everything happens exactly in the same way it did this afternoon.

"I wasn't going to punch you, idiot," Malfoy says like before. I look around the students in search of Neville. Any second now he will arrive. He will come to save the girl on the ground.

But I can't make him out in the crowd. He's not coming. Why isn't he coming? What is going to happen to me – I mean my doppelgänger – if Neville doesn't save her?

Malfoy raises his right hand and I fear the worst. Is he going to hit the girl after all? I have to stop him!

"Your face is way too pretty for that," he says. It's enough to halt me in my tracks.

Is he being serious? Or is he mocking me – my doppelgänger – like always?

Malfoy strokes a hand over the girl's face slowly. It looks almost like a caress. But that's not possible. On top of everything the git also starts to smile at the girl!

I want to push him off her. He has no right to smile at her in such a creepy way.

But I don't get to do that. Because the world shifts around us and I find myself in a meadow full of poppies, daisies and buttercups. I spot a tall tree to my right. The shape of its bark reminds me of a door. It must be the door that leads to the dream corridor.

There's only three people in the meadow. Me, Malfoy and my doppelgänger.

Malfoy who still has that creepy smile on his face. Malfoy who is still leaning over my doppelgänger, pushing some strands out of her face with his dirty hands. I'm going insane!

Then something even weirder happens.

My doppelgänger smiles back. She actually smiles back! Why is she smiling at the git? And it's not even an evil smile. It looks friendly, happy even!

And just when I thought it couldn't get even worse Malfoy does something that makes me doubt my state of sanity.

He leans even closer to my doppelgänger and kisses her nose. The girl that looks like me giggles and Malfoy kisses her again. On the cheek, on the nose, on her forehead. He covers her whole face with kisses and the foolish girl doesn't stop giggling!

I get nauseous from watching this… this whatever _this_ is! I don't know if it's possible to actually be sick in a dream but maybe I'm about to find out soon.

They're both laughing like loons now and a second later Malfoy leans in to kiss her properly. On the mouth! And what does the foolish girl do? She kisses him back!

My legs are about to give out when Malfoy gives me the death blow.

He breaks the kiss and lies down next to her. Then he buries his face in my doppelgänger's shoulder and wraps his arms around her middle. And when she hugs him back he has this _look_ in his eyes. He looks ridiculously _happy_. It's almost like the girl hung the moon or something.

I can't breathe. This is too much. I can't handle this. I can't.

"STOP!" I shout because I can't watch any more of this. My scream is accompanied by loud thunder. Did I cause that? Malfoy and my own face look at me in surprise. Looks like they've finally noticed me.

"Haley?" Malfoy asks, as he looks confusedly back and forth between me and my doppelgänger. That's when I notice my hair is back to its original colour. Damn. I look like myself again.

I don't waste another second and run straight toward the tree that looks like a door.

I throw the door open and leave this nightmare without a glance back.

Only seconds later I stop in front of my brother's door. It looks terribly inviting. Not even a week has passed since I last saw him but I think Simon's sunny company is exactly what I need right now.

I hesitantly reach for the door (no electric shocks!) and pull it open. Well that was easy. Simon is too trusting for his own good. But for now I'm glad I can get in so easily.

I walk through the door and find myself inside a café. My brother sits at one of the tables and eats scones. With lots of butter. I run over to him and attack him with a bone-crushing hug.

"Simon," I say. My voice sounds slightly wobbly.

"Hey sis," he mumbles, "Is there a reason you're trying to crush me?"

"I simply missed my favourite brother," I say with a chuckle and sit down in a chair next to him, without letting him go. Normally I'd hit him for calling me "sis" but seeing him is so comforting that I let it go this one time.

"But I'm your _only_ brother," he argues.

"Shut up." I hit him. Lightly of course.

"I thought you missed me?" He complains, "Could you maybe let go? I can't eat like that."

I can't help the laughter that bubbles out of me. This is why I came here. My adorable little brother who even in his dreams cares about nothing else but food. You simply have to love him. I kiss the top of his head and loosen my death grip on him. He frees his arm and promptly continues to eat.

"You want some?" Simon offers, gesturing toward the huge plate of scones in front of him.

"I'm good," I say with a shake of my head. I'm not sure the nausea from earlier isn't going to make a return. Besides, I'm contend just resting my head on my brother's shoulder and watching him eat happily. It's almost enough to make me forget the scene I witnessed only minutes before.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I haven't posted in ages but here is an update! Finally. What did you think of the chapter? I was going to keep this fairly light and happy but I'm afraid there will be some angst soon... It won't be too heavy though :D  
> Who spotted the Hamilton reference? I always sing that part when I read it xD Thank you for reading and let me know what you think :)
> 
> The song I mentioned is "Do the Hippogriff" from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire OST. But I'm sure you knew that already :) The solo part comes after the chorus is sung for the second time and Haley plays a combination of the guitar solo and the bagpipes solo. You should definitely give the song a listen even if you know it. It's so crazy :D And I'm planning to use it for a "really fun" dream. So look forward to that!  
> Oh and a "magically enhanced" guitar is basically an electric guitar. Just for wizards.
> 
> Till next time, Feather :)


	5. Dance Like A Hippogriff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the later part of the chapter I recommend you listen to the song "Do the Hippogriff" from the soundtrack of the fourth Harry Potter movie. You'll know when to listen. It'll be much more fun that way ;) Here you have the yt link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_x8SGYlqyc

" _Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy. "  
― Ray Charles_

_..._

Someone had glued Haley's eyelids together. There was no other explanation for the way she felt.

If she wasn't careful she would end up bathing her face in her cornflakes. She hadn't been this tired in a long time. She had gone to bed so early last night though. Maybe it had something to do with the dream corridor? She would have to ask her mum about that.

"Haley! _Haley!_ " Called a voice from not too far away. Then she felt someone pinch her arm.

"Ow," Haley said absently, looking around for the person who had pinched her.

"Haley, we're going to be late!" Hermione almost shouted, pulling at her arm impatiently.

Right. She had to get up. She hadn't touched a bite of her breakfast anyway. What lesson was it they had to attend? Charms?

Haley picked up her school bag and followed her friend out of the Great Hall. She knew she wasn't sleeping anymore but she didn't feel completely awake either. Maybe it had been stupid not to eat anything during breakfast. She felt so weak. Just for a moment she would close her eyes and rest. This was nice. The wall behind her was pleasantly cool, so she leaned back against it for a bit. Even if she wanted, she couldn't open her eyes again. They felt so heavy. So–

Somebody touched her hair that was a huge unruly pile on top of her head. (She hadn't had much time to properly take care of her appearance this morning.) Was she dreaming again?

"I didn't know you let your owl sleep in your hair, Potter," said a voice close to her mockingly.

Haley's eyes opened at once. Malfoy. Of course it was that git! Grinning at her like it was perfectly normal for him to creep up on her and touch her like this.

Pictures started to flash before Haley's eyes. Malfoy who was leaning over her, grinning at her smugly. Malfoy who was stroking her face. Malfoy who was kissing her-

" _Stop!_ " She shouted irritatedly, "Don't touch me! Get away from me!"

She pushed the boy away from her roughly, barely noticing the perplexed expression on his face. She turned around, ready to run away. Where were Ron and Hermione anyway?

"What do you – I didn't – Damn it, Potter! It's not like I felt you up or anything!" He shouted back equally upset.

Wouldn't it have been nice if she could insult him really badly? Or hex him until he'd finally leave her alone? She sighed.

"Just leave me alone," she muttered and ran down the hall away from him.

This was it. She couldn't do this any more. This was just because of the stupid dreaming thing! She shouldn't have started in the first place. What she had seen in Malfoy's dream… what did that even mean? Malfoy… did he… have a crush on her? No, that was impossible!

There had to be a different explanation! Hadn't her mum told her that dreams didn't necessarily show the truth? But what had she seen then? Had it been no more than a strangely distorted coincidence? She wouldn't be able to find out unless she went back. Unless she visited his dreams again. But what if what she saw the next time was even more disturbing? No, she couldn't do it. She would stop this whole mess while she still could.

Without meaning to, Haley had walked back toward Gryffindor Tower. She had missed most of the Charms lesson anyway. So maybe she could take a little nap before History of Magic.

" _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ ," she told the Fat Lady and stepped through the portrait hole into the common room. As she sunk into one of the armchairs and closed her eyes she thought to herself that she wasn't going to set a foot into the dream corridor this time.

…

The next thing Haley heard was the clattering sound of several heavy things hitting the ground.

"Ron, you idiot! Didn't I tell you to be quiet?"

"That wasn't me! And don't call me _idiot_!"

It sounded just like Hermione and Ron were arguing about something again.

"Sorry, I didn't see those books on the table!" And that sounded like Neville.

She opened her eyes slightly to see what was going on around her. Hermione and Ron were standing next to the portrait hole while Neville was picking up some books close to her armchair.

"It's fine Neville," Hermione murmured, "I only hope you didn't wake her up."

Wake her up? Were they talking about Haley?

"I think it's too late for that," Neville said, as he placed the books on top of the table and grinned down at Haley apologetically. His smile was so warm. So gentle. So beautif–

"You're awake?" Hermione asked, appearing in front of her in no less than a second. Haley nodded.

"Are you feeling better? You seemed really out of it during breakfast," she noted worriedly.

Haley nodded again. Wasn't she mad at all that Haley had missed Charms?

"You realize that you missed Charms _and_ History of Magic?" Her friend questioned with one raised eyebrow. What? History of Magic, too?

"Of course we came back to look for you after Charms but you seemed so tired this morning that I thought it was best to let you sleep some more."

"Um..." Haley didn't really know what to say. But it was okay because Hermione had enough to say for the both of them.

"I'm going to let you borrow my notes this once but don't just vanish the next time. We were really worried when you didn't show up for Charms."

Haley nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry about that. And thank you," she said, stifling a yawn. She was glad Hermione believed she had been behaving so strangely just because of her tiredness and nothing else. She didn't know whether she could tell her about what she had seen in Malfoy's dream even if she wanted to.

"So… lunch?" Ron piped up. He was still waiting beside the portrait hole. Lunch sounded great. She hadn't had anything for breakfast after all.

"I'm starving," Haley said as she got up and walked over toward the portrait hole. Hopefully she wouldn't run into Malfoy on the way to the Great Hall again.

…

All thoughts related to the Slytherin vanished as soon as Haley sat down at the Gryffindor table.

A familiar beautiful brown owl was sailing over toward her, landing next to her still empty plate.

"Beryll!" She exclaimed happily. It was her family's owl. Beryll held out his leg that had a letter tied to it and hooted softly. She gently stroked the owl's feathers before untying the letter.

"Thank you," she said, filling some water into a bowl and placing it in front of the owl.

One glance at the sloppy writing told her it was from her dad. It had not even been a week and he already missed her. With a smile Haley broke the seal and opened the letter.

 

_My dearest daughter,_

_You need to tell me who exactly is tormenting you. I've decided there really is no other option but to punish them. Sirius and I know lots of nasty little hexes that would be just perfect. That's why we've been spending the last few nights creating this useful prank book for you._

_If you would just tell me that prat's name I could send them a nice little present myself. Because no one is allowed to lay their filthy hands on my daughter!  
But I wouldn't want to spoil the fun for you. I know as a true daughter of Gryffindor you must be itching to serve your revenge with your own hands. Hence I sent you the prank book._

_I'm sure you will teach that fool not to mess with a Potter! Don't forget to tell me all about your revenge and which pranks you found useful._

_You can always write in case there's something you don't understand or if you need my help. (Regarding the prank book or other things.) I know it can be scary to fight against your fears but remember this: Bravery will get you anywhere. That's the true Gryffindor spirit._

_But I don't have to tell you that. I have to stop here because your mum wanted to show me her latest painting or something. And also because I'll miss you more if I keep writing. Why did you have to go and grow up so fast anyway? It would be nice if you didn't have to go back for your sixth year. Not even your brother will be here to console me. Well, your mum is calling. I hope to hear from you soon. Make sure not to do anything that I wouldn't do._

_Love, Dad_

_PS: I'm sending you the prank book with the next owl._

_PPS: Your mum doesn't know about the prank book so do me a favour and don't mention it in your letters._

 

Not a second later another owl arrived, carrying a book-sized package in its claws. The unfamiliar owl dropped the package into Haley's lap, took a sip of water from Beryll's bowl and flew away again. A post owl probably.

"Who's that from?" Hermione asked from the right.

"Dad," Haley mumbled, as she opened the loosely wrapped package. The first thing she saw was a bundle that was made with a tied up handkerchief. In the corner she saw the initials: _J.P_.

A heavenly smell wafted up from the bundle. Were those-?

Haley made a noise that sounded like a mix between delight and disbelief.

"Pumpkin cinnamon rolls!" She exclaimed, inhaling the rich cinnamon aroma. There was a note that had been beneath the bundle.

 

" _I stole them from mum's secret stash. I know how much you love them._

_Cheer up!_

– _Dad_ "

 

A warm feeling crept up in Haley's chest. This was too sweet. Her dad was really the best.

"The home made one's? From your mum?" Ron asked excitedly from across her. Haley didn't like the look in his eyes. Those were _her_ cinnamon rolls.

" _Yeees_ ," she said slowly, stretching the _e_.

"Wow! Those are amazing!" He exclaimed, his eyes shining happily. Haley softened at that. Ron's honest excitement was kind of sweet. And didn't sweets always taste even better if you could share them with friends?

"Let's try them later in the common room, yeah?" She suggested, already looking forward to it.

"Great!" Ron said and continued to eat. It was Hermione who reminded them that there was something else inside the package.

"What's that?" She asked, gesturing toward the thin, black book in Haley's lap. There wasn't any writing on the cover at all.

"Just a note book, I think," Haley muttered and tried to slip it into her school bag quickly. It never reached her school bag. Instead it slipped from her hands and landed on the ground, opened on the first page.

" _Prank book of_ _t_ _he_ _peskiest_ _pranks by Prongs and Padfoot_? This doesn't look like a simple note book," Hermione mused as she picked the book up from the ground and started to leaf through the pages.

" _Levicorpus_? What's..." Hermione's eyes grew bigger as she turned over one page after another.

"Haley, you're not planning to use this, are you?" She questioned in a dangerous undertone.

Haley rolled her eyes. "I don't even know what's in there. You didn't give me a chance to look, remember?"

Hermione regarded her for a couple of seconds. Then she sighed and handed her the book.

"You really shouldn't use this, though. Some of those spells look dangerous. I can't believe your dad sent you something like that!" She continued to complain about pranks and the importance of rules but Haley didn't listen anymore.

The words she had just read were swirling around in her head aimlessly. In the end it always came down to _bravery_ and _true_ _Gryffindor_ _spirit_ with her dad. Sometimes she wondered what he would have done if the Sorting Hat hadn't put her in Gryffindor. _Nothing, stupid. He would still love you and be proud of you,_ said a voice in her mind. She knew that, of course. But she also knew that her dad would have been disappointed. If only a little. He would also be disappointed if he knew that she was letting a pathetic Slytherin boy mess with her. And that she wasn't brave enough to fight back.

Haley didn't want to disappoint him. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity for her to prove that she was a true Gryffindor? That she could be brave as well? Growing up she had always relied on other people to protect her. Her mum, her dad, her godfather Sirius. Even Remus on occasion. Maybe it was time she started to fight her own battles.

"Didn't you say you were hungry?" Neville asked. He was sitting opposite her, next to Ron.

"Y-yeah," she answered absent-mindedly. Neville was such a kind person. And the way he always looked out for everyone warmed her heart.

"Here, have some of that pumpkin soup. it's delicious," he said, smiling at her and placing a bowl of steaming, hot soup in front of her.

"Thank you," she answered with a smile of her own.

Beryll, the owl, hooted in irritation. Didn't he like pumpkin soup? The owl hopped onto Haley's shoulder and nipped at her ear gently. Then it flew away.

"Bye Beryll," Haley whispered. Life would be so much easier if she were an owl.

…

 _I should take it off_ , Haley thought, playing around with the gobstone bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist. She already felt the sleep that was waiting to take her but she still hadn't decided whether she should take the bracelet off or not. She took it off. And placed it on her bedside table for good measure. It was better that way. She turned to her left side. Why wasn't she falling asleep already?

She turned to the other side again. She was still awake.

"Fine," Haley whispered with a sigh and snatched the gobstone from her bedside table, wrapping it around her wrist. It didn't mean she had to go through his dream door. Not a second later she had fallen asleep.

**...ooo...**

I walk almost head-first into the person that has apparently been waiting in front of my dream door.

To my immense relief it's only mum.

"You surprised me," I say accusingly, "Were you waiting for me?"

"You're here again," she tsks, "This is the fourth night in a row, isn't it?"

"Maybe. I didn't count," I answer in a non-committal way.

Mum sighs and shakes her head disapprovingly. "You shouldn't come here too often. Your body can't rest properly in this state of sleeping."

"What?" I blink at her, realisation sinking in slowly, "That's why I've been feeling so tired lately, isn't it?"

"You already noticed it yourself?" Mum asks worriedly, "Haley, sleep is important! You can't come to the dream corridor every night!"

"Yeah, yeah," I mutter. If that makes her happy. Mum watches me for a moment. She doesn't believe me.

"I can tell you're not taking this seriously," she remarks. I sigh.

" _Mum_. I _am_ taking this seriously. You worry too much."

For a second it seems she is going to continue arguing but then she sighs and something in her expression softens.

"Fine. You're old enough to make your own decisions. At least you're not as irresponsible as your dad was at your age." Mum touches my cheek and smiles at me lovingly. There is so much love shining through her eyes. It's so easy for her to express her love. I always wonder where she takes it all from. I used to imagine her scooping her love out of a huge fountain and pouring it all over whoever she thought was in need of it. I'm never sure whether to be envious or whether to be glad that I am so different from her in that respect. Suddenly I want to reassure her. She does worry too much.

"I'll stop coming here every night," I promise, "You really don't need to worry."

She nods, still smiling fondly. I'm filled with the sudden urge to tell her about the thing I saw in Malfoy's dream… Maybe she could help me figure out what to do? At the same time I don't really want to talk about the dream to begin with.

"I love you, mum," I tell her instead, pouring my own scoopful of love over her. Mum's eyes crinkle around the edges and she pinches my cheek affectionately.

"You're cute, my duckling," she positively chirps and makes to turn away. The words of protest die in my throat as I remember what I forgot to tell her.

"I almost forgot – Dad.. tell him not to miss me too much."

There's a knowing look on mum's face. "He sent you a package, didn't he? That's why there were so many cinnamon rolls missing." She chuckles. "I'll tell him you liked it."

With that she spins around and marches back to her own dream door. She barely steps through the door when my legs start to walk in the opposite direction almost on their own accord. Before I even have the chance to properly make up my mind on whether I should spy on Malfoy again or not, I have already arrived in front of his dream door.

"And you are?" The familiar voice of Myron Wagtail questions in a bored tone. I quickly envision the hood I covered my face with the first time I was here.

"No one," I mutter, picking up the guitar swiftly. Getting the solo right this time around is much easier than the last time. Still, my fingers slip once or twice on the strings. Does Myron mind? I look at the poster but the singer does not seem impressed at all. Damn. I give it another try and this time my fingers don't slip… notably.

"Sweet tune," says Myron and nods approvingly, "I didn't get your name…?" He adds in a questioning tone.

"I'm no one," I repeat my answer from earlier. I'm not about to tell him my real name!

Myron nods again, seemingly thinking about it. "Sounds like a good title for a song, don't you think?" He wonders and promptly starts improvising melodies with the phrase _I'm no one_.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I set down the guitar and reach for the door handle. What kind of dream will I stumble into this time?

As I step through the door I find myself in a familiar room. It's a class room. The Transfigurations class room perhaps. Professor McGonnagall who's standing right in the middle confirms my assumption. The room is full of students but I can't spot Malfoy right away.

Is it suspicious that I'm wandering around the Transfigurations class room with a massive black hood covering my face? Probably. But on the other hand nobody seems to notice me anyway. They are all busy trying to turn a pine cone into a hairbrush. It's not the most complicated of spells. But for some reason McGonnagall is walking up and down the rows, checking how everyone is doing and correcting them if necessary.

I scan the room another time until my eyes finally land on white blond hair and a pale face. There he is. All the way in the back. It almost seems as though he is hiding behind all the other students. But why would he be doing that? As McGonnagall draws closer to his row, Malfoy seems to get more nervous, anxious even. That's curious. An idea forms in my head. Malfoy seems to be nervous because of McGonnagall… I don't want to witness that. In fact, I want to be the cause for his distress.

I concentrate on the task of making myself look like the Transfigurations professor. It helps that she is standing right in front of me. A glance toward my clothes tells me that I successfully copied her robes. I have always wanted to wear that fancy hat of hers once. Hopefully I got the face right as well. With a wave of my hand I make the real McGonnagall (Well, she is real in the dream) vanish and quickly go to stand where she stood only a second ago. I take another step to the left until I'm right in front of Malfoy's desk. From up close he looks even more nervous than before. A grin steals onto my face.

"Mr Malfoy," I say, but I have to stop because my voice still sounds like my own. I clear my throat and try to remember what McGonnagall sounds like. Once I can hear it in my mind clearly I try again. "Mr Malfoy," That's better, "Why don't you show us your spell work." My eyebrows are raised in an expectant way and I enjoy looking down at the git far too much.

Malfoy opens his mouth but no sound comes out of it.

"I – I –" he stammers, his eyes wide open, "I – I – I can't." Wait. What? I tilt my head to the side in curiosity.

"What do you mean, Mr Malfoy?"

Malfoy looks around frantically. It almost appears as if he was searching for something. Then I notice it. His wand is no where to be seen.

I scrunch my eyes together. "Where is your wand?" I inquire sharply.

If possible the boy's eyes widen even more. "I – It's – It's – Longbottom stole it," he bursts out and points one accusing finger toward something to his left. And interestingly enough, there in the right hand corner of the class room sits Neville. But as far as I can see there is only one wand in his possession.

"Mr Longbottom… _stole_ your wand, you say?" I ask in a rather skeptical tone.

"Yes," the boy answers with a glare aimed at Neville.

"Well, that's a serious accusation," I say, leaning down slightly so that I can look into Malfoy's eyes more directly, "Can you prove it?"

Malfoy raises an eyebrow at me. "Search him," he suggests, with a nod into Neville's direction. It's astounding how quickly he found his confidence again. But I'm not done with him. Not by far. I smile back at him, which seems to reassure him somewhat.

Then, using the sweetest tone of voice I can imagine McGonnagall speaking in, I say, "I don't think I will do that."

I can literally see Malfoy's facial expression freezing and his confidence vanishing into thin air. "What?" He gasps disbelievingly.

Raising up to my (or rather McGonnagall's) full impressive height, I tell him, "Obviously you cannot prove that your wand has been stolen and from my experience it wouldn't be the first time that you have been falsely accusing other students-"

"Professor! That's not-" The boy protests but I continue without letting him finish.

"Which is why," I pause, it's really hard to stay serious and not full out laugh at him, "Why I've come up with a suitable task to make up for your behaviour which is far from commendable."

"B-but Professor," Malfoy argues in frustration, looking around the class room in obvious search of support. But nobody rises to help him. In fact, as my eyes scan the room I see more and more students chuckling and grinning, clearly enjoying Malfoy's current predicament. Who would have thought?

"We can just forget about all of this," I tell him, gesturing vaguely toward the class room, "But first you have to fulfil this small task."

"What kind of task," he asks petulantly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Now I grin at him openly. I can't help it. The task I've come up with is too good.

"You're going to sing a song in front of the whole class," I tell him, spreading my arms in a wide gesture.

"What? I will do no such thing-"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you know the song. It's that song by the _Weird Sisters_. About hippogriffs or something."

"No! I refuse! You can't make me!"

I squint my eyes at him and ask in a low tone, "Perhaps… You would like me to tell your father about this? That you can't even do a simple Transfigurations spell? That you're disrupting my class by lying and accusing students of things they didn't do?"

With each word I say his face gets paler. Until finally he clenches his teeth and grits out, "Fine. I'll do it."

"I thought so," I say with a satisfied little chuckle. "Well then." I nod toward the front of the class room where some kind of stage has appeared.

Malfoy swallows nervously, before getting up and making his way toward the other end of the room. While he passes through the rows of students the snickering and pointing increases more and more until the noise reminds me of the buzzing of a busy beehive. It's obvious that Malfoy is trying to keep up a somewhat confident appearance but the laughter of the other students visibly gets to him. The sight makes me feel a twinge of sympathy. This is not right.

But after a second I quickly shake off the feeling. This is Malfoy. Who has been tormenting and harassing me and other students for years. If anyone deserves a taste of humiliation than it's certainly him. Besides, this is only a dream, right? He won't even remember most of it, tomorrow.

With these thoughts in mind I make my way toward the front of the room as well and lean back against the teacher's desk. That's practically a front row seat.

Malfoy still looks nervous and uncertain. It doesn't seem as if he is going to start any time soon.

With a sigh I flick my fingers and the makeshift stage behind him fills with instruments and some of the members of the _Weird Sisters_. Good thing, I saw them playing live during the Yule Ball last year. Myron is missing. But that's not really a problem, seeing as Malfoy is supposed to sing.

As the song starts Malfoy hesitantly takes hold of the microphone in front of him. The singing part begins but there's no singing. For a second I wonder if there's something wrong with the microphone. But one glance at Malfoy confirms that the git never even started to sing. I fix him with a stern look until he rolls his eyes and sighs in defeat. With a wave of my hand I gesture for the band to play the song again from the start.

I almost expect the Slytherin to stay silent this time as well. But then right when the singing part starts I hear… something. It's not singing. More like someone hesitantly _speaking_ the lyrics. It's barely more than a low whisper but it's definitely there.

" _Move your body like a hairy troll_  
_Learning to rock and roll_  
Spin around like a crazy elf  
_Dancin' by himself_ "

After that first part Malfoy closes his eyes and starts to really sing. I admit, I didn't think he would actually do it.

" _Boogie down like a unicorn_  
_No stoppin' till the break of dawn"_

It almost seems as though he's starting to enjoy himself. That's not really what I intended…

 _"Put your hands up in the air_  
_Like an ogre, who just don't care_ "

The music builds up in preparation for the chorus. There is a little grin on Malfoy's face as he gets ready for the next part. The chorus starts and as Malfoy finally opens his eyes I notice that we're not in the class room anymore. The tiny makeshift stage has turned into a gigantic space with stage lights and huge amplifiers. In front of the stage a crowd of screaming and dancing teenagers has appeared. While I find myself at the edge of the stage, noticing all of these changes Malfoy continues singing in the background.

 _"Can you dance like a hippogriff?_  
_Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma_  
_Flyin' off from a cliff  
_ _Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma"_

He's not only singing though. A guitar has appeared in his hands and he's strumming along, moving his body to the music. Merlin, am I dreaming? Well, I guess I am but still... is that really Draco Malfoy dancing and singing to "Do the Hippogriff"? I can't stop myself from chuckling. How I wish I could witness this in reality. Malfoy glances over at me, then. Has he noticed my chuckling? A second later another guitar appears – this time in my hands – and Malfoy continues to sing.

 _"Swooping down to the ground_  
_Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma_  
_Wheel around and around and around and around  
_ _Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma"_

I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. Although I do remember the chords used in the song, it's hard to suddenly play along without having a proper starting point. On top of that I'm still disguised as Professor McGonnagall which is… slightly bizarre to say the least. But this is a dream, isn't it? Perhaps I could just play any chords and make them sound the way I want them to just by imagining it? It's worth a try.

 _"Groove around like a scary ghost_  
_Spooking himself the most_  
_Shake your booty like a boggart in pain_  
_Again and again and again"_

Malfoy continues singing and his voice doesn't sound too shabby. I can admit that. And if there's one thing I respect it's an artist – be it singer, dancer, writer, painter – being completely absorbed in their art. And surprisingly that's exactly what seems to be happening with Malfoy. He's up there on the stage singing, dancing and simply having fun without holding back. Without caring who witnesses it. Who is this boy? I don't think I've seen him before. In fact, it's only now that I notice that he does look different. His school robes are kind of rumpled and his tie is loose. His hair seems as though he just rolled out of bed. And his eyes… they are lined with black. He looks like some kind of vampire. A wannabe vampire.

 _"Get it on like an angry spectre_  
_Who's definitely out to get ya'_  
_Stamp your feet like a leprechaun_  
_Gettin' it on, gettin' it on"_

As the chorus starts up again he turns to me and winks. Then he continues to sing but this time he does this thing that musicians sometimes do where they kind of just enjoy making music together. He continues to play, never averting his eyes from me. And in that moment it seems like he's just _feeling_ the music. Completely losing himself in it.

 _"Can you dance like a hippogriff?_  
_Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma_  
_Flyin' off from a cliff  
_ _Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma_

 _Swooping down to the ground_  
_Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma_  
_Wheel around and around and around and around  
_ _Ma_ _ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma"_

During that last part he spontaneously twirls. Actually _twirls_ and I burst out laughing because this is the most hilarious thing I have ever seen. He notices, of course. But instead of the angry glare that I expected, he starts laughing as well. He puts the microphone down and twirls again, sending a playful grin my way. Before any sort of warning the boy proceeds to show the most embarrassing and funny dance moves I have ever seen. The laughter tumbles out of me without me being able stop it. Is he doing this on purpose?

I barely register the song continuing on without either of us as the boy dances his way over to me. He stops in front of me and does another one of his ridiculous moves, making me chuckle more. My head bounces to the beat and my body has started to move along with the music almost against my own will.

He sends me a look I can't quite identify. It's certainly kind of amused but also something else. Well, I don't care. I'm still disguised and none of this is real anyway. So, who is going to judge me for a little bit of dancing? The chorus has started up again, reminding me how much I love this song. I dance, feeling carefree and relaxed. I haven't had so much fun in ages.

Then I notice something is different. The boy in front of me has stopped dancing, his movements having receded to mere swaying. And the look on his face… He is definitely still amused but the other feeling seems more prominent now. I still don't know what it reminds me of…

He takes another step towards me and places his hands on my waist. I gasp. What in Merlin's name is going on? And why is my guitar gone when I could really use it as a shield or even a weapon right now?

"Haley," he says almost joyfully, as he leans ever closer, "You're here."

For a split second I catch a glimpse of Malfoy's eyes up close. They seem unguarded and the expression in them completely honest. His eyes remind me of something…

But wait. What is happening? Malfoy wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. In that moment it feels like my brain has temporarily shut down. Why is he hugging me? What did that look in his eyes mean? Why did he say my real name? Do I look like myself again? Why can't I even uphold a simple disguise? He tightens his hold around me and I just want him to let go. But for some reason my body feels like it's petrified. I can't move.

Suddenly a memory surfaces in front of my eyes. My brother Simon… playing around with fluffy kittens… Last summer our cat had dropped a bunch of tiny kittens. I still remember Simon playing around with them until he'd had scratches all over his arms… But that isn't the important part. The way Simon had looked at those kittens… It had been a look full of joy and… adoration.

And Malfoy… he had looked at me the way Simon looked at kittens. He had looked at me as if he _adored_ me. As if I was something _precious_.

Malfoy pulls away. Does he sense that I am on the verge of a mental breakdown? His eyes still hold that soft expression as they wander across my face. I open my mouth in an attempt to tell him to stop, to leave me alone but I can't find my voice. This is so frustrating. The little smile on his face irritates me. There is no reason to smile! I want to tell him that, too. I want to tell him to get his bloody hands off me and –

He leans in and kisses me. On the nose. And _that_ seems to work like a charm. How dare he? I regain control over my body and push him away. He stumbles a few steps backwards and looks at me, his eyes full of confusion and disbelief.

"What-?" He asks, not even able to finish his question.

"Don't," I hiss at him, holding my arms up in defence.

"Haley! Wait! What's wrong?" He questions, uncomprehendingly. He looks as if I betrayed him or something but I can't let that bother me now. I already regret coming here. Where is the stupid dream door? I look around frantically until I finally spot it at the back of the stage. I run toward the door without looking back.

…

Back in the dream corridor, I try not to think. At all. I don't even know why this is throwing me off so badly. It's not worse than what I have seen in the dream before that. But that's just the point. In the dream before I only watched from afar and this time… Malfoy was directing his attention directly at me.

But I really don't want to think about that now. Instead I try to focus my mind on the task of getting back to my own dream door. I'm halfway there when I realise that I'm not alone in the corridor. A figure is there. Standing right in the middle of the hall and blocking my way. It's a little girl, clad in a white dress, looking about 6 or 7. Her hair is as white as her dress and her big, owlish eyes are staring right at me. She watches me intently as I come closer and for a moment I wonder if I can get away with walking past her. The moment I pass her I hear the girl's voice for the first time.

"Where are you going?" Her voice is unusually low. Lower than the voice of a girl her age is supposed to sound. At the same time it sounds chirpy like a young bird. Suddenly I grow suspicious. Who is that girl? I turn to face her, squinting my eyes at her.

"Mum? Is that you?" I ask. This girl doesn't seem like my mother, but on the other hand you never know with her.  
The girl fixes me with a patronising glance. "Do I look like your mother? I thought you were smarter than that."

"Well, who are you then?" I ask, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I'm not about to let a child talk to me like that!

The girl snorts. "You haven't figured that out? How disappointing," she retorts, cocking her head to the side in a way that reminds me of a bird. She pouts, fiddling about with her white dress, which I now realise is completely made out of feathers.

The girl watches me curiously for a moment longer, then she holds out her hand and says in a warmer tone of voice, "Come with me. You look like you could use a distraction." When I don't take her hand right away, she grabs my arm and pulls me along with her.

"Hey, where are we going?" I protest. She doesn't answer. I don't know why I keep following her. Maybe it's the feeling of familiarity that she gives off. Or perhaps I'm just careless and stupid.

We stop in front of a… well it's not really a door. It's more like a hole in the wall that resembles the night sky. Kind of similar to the ceiling in the Great Hall but much smaller. Is that the girl's 'dream door'?

"I-I don't have a personal object-" I begin to argue. The girl chuckles in answer, grinning at me reassuringly. Her chuckles sound weirdly raspy.

"You do. Trust me. I made sure of that." What? When did that happen? The girl takes my hand and determinedly pulls me along with her. I feel like I'm about to do the most stupid thing I have ever done in my life. But somehow… I feel like I can trust her. I shut my eyes tightly and follow the girl into the hole. The first thing I notice is the wind that's blowing around us. I don't feel cold though.

"Open your eyes, child," the girl tells me. Why does _she_ get to call _me_ a child?

Nevertheless, I open my eyes and find myself inside my dorm. Unfortunately I'm not lying in my bed. To my immense horror, I'm standing on the window sill. And the window is open.

In front of us the castle and its grounds spread out against the night sky. Below us there is only darkness. I can't even see the ground. Somewhere between the dream corridor and here I lost my shoes. The girl next to me is barefooted as well. I look up at the girl again. Wait… why are there suddenly wings where her arms used to be? She grins at me and nods toward the night sky.

"Let's go," she whispers softly.

"Go? There is nowhere to go!" I protest.

The girl chuckles. "Don't be stupid," she says like she thinks jumping from towers is the most normal thing in the world.

Then she pushes me out of the window. Her scratchy laughter follows me as I plummet into the darkness below.

…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to update this but to make up for that I made the chapter extra long! I wanted to try ending on a cliffhanger for once :D And oh my gosh, writing that dream sequence with Draco as a kind of punk rock singer was so much fun!! I mean, you have to imagine that. My new official headcanon for Draco is that he is a huge Weird Sisters fan. And he always hears loud wizard punk rock at home in his kind of dark and gargoyle filled room :D Actually I did a little sketch of him which I might post on my tumblr later (I'm schreibfeather there as well) :) I also wanted to add in a little something with James because I wanted to explore what his relationship with his daughter might be like. Let me know what you think! Thank you for reading and commenting and kudoing ^^ as always!
> 
> Till next time, Feather :)


	6. Envy Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a song you might like to listen to in the early part of the chapter. It's from the movie "The Neverending Story". You'll know when to listen. Here's the link: youtube.com/watch?v=X2muPtWsKi4

" _What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams."  
― Werner Herzog_

_..._

My eyes are shut tightly as I'm waiting for the inevitable impact. But surprisingly it never comes. I continue to fall, wondering if I'm ever going to hit the ground, when something soft as a feather touches my cheek. Finally opening my eyes, I glance to the left. There's an owl beside me. Snow white feathers spread out to the sides. Is the owl smiling at me? I shake my head to clear it. The owl looks familiar… startlingly so.  
"Spread out your wings, child. This is still a dream," the voice of the little girl advises. But she is nowhere in sight. Then it dawns on me. It's the owl that has talked to me! And then another realisation hits me. The owl looks just like…

" _Hedwig?_ " The sound of chirpy laughter fills my head. Is she speaking through her mind?

"Took you long enough."

"But – how is that – I mean you're an – how can you – I don't understand – what?" It's not my most shining moment. The owl – _Hedwig_ – flies a circle around me. That's when I realise that I'm not falling any longer. I'm floating now, caught somewhere between falling and flying.

"Did you think owls can't dream? Or even speak?" Hedwig asks, sounding offended.

"No! I – It's just..." But the owl is right, of course. That's exactly what I thought.

"Why did you transform into a little girl?" I ask. It's a pretty weak attempt to change the subject. Hedwig rolls her eyes. It's as if she can see right through me.

"Why not? This is a dream. I could also turn into a dragon, if I wanted." Strangely enough this makes sense. But why would she –

Merlin's magical underpants! There is a gigantic, white dragon next to me! It's not the kind of dragon you see in the books about magical creatures. It doesn't even have wings. It's long, almost like a snake and… kind of furry. It somehow looks really familiar.

"You're a luckdradon!"

"You _did_ watch that film an awful lot, when you were younger." Hedwig, in the form of a luckdragon, grins widely now. She clearly enjoys how much her appearance is baffling me. She flies another circle around me and I follow her movements with my eyes. Then I make the mistake of looking down. The Hogwarts grounds are far down below us. The sight makes me feel dizzy. This is only a dream but… what would happen if I actually hit the ground? As soon as I think it, I feel myself falling again. Damn. The ground is approaching fast until –

I land on top of something soft and fluffy. Hedwig. She saved me. And as if it could not get any more surreal than this I suddenly hear a very familiar melody that seems to come from everywhere around us.

"This is the song that plays when Bastian rides on the back of the luckdragon!" I exclaim, before breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. I can't believe this is really happening! Hedwig, the luckdragon, just grins smugly.

"You know, Simon would be so jealous, if he knew about this."

"Shall I pay him a visit tomorrow night?"

"No. I want to see his face. Let's go together, next time." I really don't want to miss my brother's reaction!

"All right," Hedwig agrees. We fly through the night sky above the clouds for a bit longer in companionable silence. It would be nice if we could just keep flying like this forever. We could leave the disappointing reality behind and never look back. I wouldn't have to wake up and deal with everything that is waiting for me once I open my eyes. I don't want to wake up.

"This dream won't last forever, child," Hedwig whispers almost as if she heard my thoughts.

"I know," I mumble into the fluffy fur of her neck. It's warm and soft here. Too comfortable to be real.

"You might as well tell me what has you so worried."

"Who says, I'm worried?" The last thing I want to do now is ruining this pleasant dream by dragging my mess of a life into it.

"You forget that I have known you since you were a tiny fledgling. I can tell when something bothers you."  
I hum non-commitally but don't say anything else. If I just pretend long enough that there is nothing to say, she might leave the matter alone. For a few seconds it seems like my strategy is working but then the world suddenly turns upside-down. My arms tighten around Hedwig's neck, purely on reflex, which is the only thing that keeps me from falling into nothingness again.

"Hedwig!" I yell in exasperation. I can't believe this. She is flying with her back to the ground now. And her soft chuckling tells me that this is purely intentional.

"What is it, birdie?"

"Please, stop!"

"Stop, what?"

"Stop… I mean – fly normal again!" I know this is a dream and if I fall I probably won't be hurt but… this feels so real. The clouds are floating past us by but it's all wrong. I can't see the ground. And the sky… is it above us or below? My stomach churns uncomfortably.

"Hedwig, please!"

"Will you tell me what's on your mind?"

I don't even think before answering, "Yes! I'll tell you _anything_. Anything you want to hear. Just _please_!"  
Before I can plead any more the world rights itself once more and I can finally relax.

"Why'd you do that?" I ask, as soon as I've caught my breath.

"You're changing the topic," Hedwig accuses. Her shiny claws click against one another in a way that seems almost impatient.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I'll tell you!" I really don't want to repeat the experience of flying upside-down. I take a deep breath in an attempt to brace myself for what I am about to say. But… what _am_ I going to say? Where should I start?

"Umm… so, do you know that – that blond Slytherin in our year?" I can't bring myself to actually say his name.

"You mean that human who always walks around looking like he only ever catches rats instead of delicious little mice?"

What in Merlin's name-? "Hedwig, what–?"

"That arrogant eagle owl always carries out packages and letters for him."

"So, you know him?" There is only one person at Hogwarts who owns an eagle owl. That I know of. Malfoy, of course. He is such a show-off.

"What about him? Did he ruffle your feathers again?" Hedwig asks and before I can think of an answer she starts to laugh. "That's a funny expression, really," She adds, once she has calmed down a bit. Who would have thought that Hedwig had a fondness for lame puns. But wait… what did she say just now? _Again_?

"Hedwig," I begin suspiciously. "What do you mean did he ruffle my feathers _again_?"

"Well, you're not exactly best pals, are you?" She deflects.

"You knew that he always harrasses me?"

Hedwig rolls her eyes, "Of course. I _am_ an owl after all."

She has a point there. "Fair enough."

"So, what about that little worm?" Hedwig asks, making a left turn. I giggle. _Worm_ seems like a fitting expression.

"He – I mean, I – I went into his dream… I… I wanted to find out why… why he always picks on me. Or at least… find a way to stop him." And I've accomplished none of that. How disappointing.

"I see." Hedwig hums thoughtfully. "What did you find out?"

I bury my face in the thick fur again. My cheeks are burning. This is so embarrassing. Do I really have to say it all out loud?

"He's… he's really different in his dreams."

"Different? How so?"

"I think he… that one time he dreamed of me… and he… he was really _different_ …"

I hear the impatient clicking of Hedwig's claws again. She's not going to throw me off, if I don't tell her the rest, is she?

i hastily continue, almost stumbling over the words, "I – I think that – if it were any one but Malfoy – if it were any one else, I'd think – that he – that he has a c-crush o-on me." My confession is followed with silence. I feel sweaty and tingly all over. It's too hot and I think I'm really going to be sick this time around. Might this have something to do with the pinkish clouds we're flying through now? Wait… why are the clouds pink in the first place? And why is Hedwig grinning like this? No more than a second later, she bursts into roaring laughter. Good thing, I wasn't utterly confused before.

"You're not supposed to laugh at me!" I hear myself whine indignantly. "I know, it sounds ridiculous but… that's what it looked like, okay?"

"No need to _fly_ off the handle, birdie," Hedwig snorts. Is she going to keep making these bad jokes? "So, you think the boy has the _hoots_ for you?" The owl-turned-luckdragon asks with a grin. I have to admit that was kind of funny. This is serious, though. I have to keep that in mind. I bite my lips and nod in confirmation.

"And what do you plan to do with that information?" She asks, still chuckling softly.

"Well, I… I thought I could blackmail him… so that he will stop tormenting me." It sounds kind of lame phrased like that. "That's at least what mum suggested..."

"I see." Hedwig sounds awfully sceptical.

"Do you… not think that will work?"

She doesn't answer right away. And when she does, her tone is hesitant… thoughtful. "I think… you should… confirm your assumption first."

"Huh?" I can't shake the feeling that she knows more. That she's hiding something.

"Wouldn't it be embarrassing if you tried to blackmail him and then it turns out that… what you saw was no more than a dream?"

"Exactly! That's what I thought, too," I agree. It's a thought that I cling to with almost painful determination. It's a much more bearable thought than the alternative.

"So confirm it," Hedwig advises once more.

"But… how do I _confirm_ it?"

"Well, you could kiss him. If he kisses you in return he probably likes you and if he hexes you… he probably doesn't."

"I'm not going to kiss that jerk! _Ew_!" The mere thought is enough to make me shudder. "I don't care if it's just within a dream. There has to be another way."

We're flying across a deep green forest. The sight is beautiful but I can't appreciate that now.

"Oh, you'd have to do it in the real world, of course. If you want to be really sure."

"Never. Ever." I growl with a grimace.

"Hm… then you could… I don't know… what do they always do in the romantic movies? Hold hands? Sing him a song? Or… look deep into his eyes?" Hedwig flies lower until her claws lightly graze the treetops. "What do _I_ know? Pick one."

"But – you're an owl. You know things. Can't you just find out for me?"

Hedwig chuckles softly and suddenly I can't see the trees any more. There is only the dark blue night sky around us. But it's illuminated by little twinkling stars. Thousands of them.

"There are some things that we can only find out on our own." There is a hidden glint in Hedwig's eyes that I can't quite place but I'm almost sure now that she knows more than she's letting on.

"But–" I want to protest but Hedwig interrupts me.

"It's time to wake up now," she says. I can't explain how it happened exactly but I'm standing on the window sill of my dorm again. Next to me stands the girl from before. Hedwig. She smiles at me in an encouraging way. I stumble backwards and not a second later find myself on the hard ground in the middle of the dream corridor. I'm alone now. And more confused than ever.

**o** **oo**

Later, when Haley woke up, she wondered why the window was open. A soft breeze was washing into the room, blowing up the curtains around her bed. And on her chest, she found a single, white feather.

...

The next morning passed by in a blur. Haley felt even more tired than she had the day before. She slept through most of her morning classes and during Divination she broke almost half of Professor Trelawney's tea cups because she walked headlong into the cupboard. Well, thanks to her clumsy little brother she at least knew a good charm to make them whole again.

"Are you sure, you don't want to go to the hospital wing?" Ron asked for the fourth time as they made their way down to the Great Hall for lunch.

"I'm not sick," Haley answered impatiently, "I'm just a bit tired. That's all."

Ron sighed. "If you say so," he muttered. They had reached the end of the stairs now. "Look at that git," Ron continued distastefully, "The way he prances about the hall, you might think he owns the place."

Haley followed his gaze and sure enough there he was. Draco Malfoy. He was leading a group of Slytherins toward the Great Hall like they were his entourage. Haley wondered whether it was all a big show. In his dream last night his housemates hadn't been that supportive. More the opposite really. But here he was, confident as ever. She couldn't stand him. And the thought that he dreamed about her in such intimate ways made her feel so angry and disgusted, she wanted to–

"We should really use that prank book you got from your dad, don't you think? Just to scare him a bit. I mean, we won't tell Hermione, of course. Let's do that, eh?"  
Haley found herself nodding without even thinking about it. If anyone deserved a bit of a scare it was sodding Malfoy. And she liked that idea much better than the thing Hedwig had suggested.

"Come on, then," Haley said cheerfully, as she walked past the doors, leading to the Great Hall.

"Wait, where are you going? The Great Hall is that way!"

"Well, we're heading to the library, of course. We can't come up with a plan when Hermione's right there and Malfoy watching from across the hall."

Ron seemed disappointed. He looked back toward the Great Hall longingly. "But… you know… won't Hermione be suspicious if we don't turn up for lunch?"

He had a point there. "Right. So… let's do it this way. I'm going to head to the library and you go and tell Hermione… I don't know, tell her I forgot something in Trelawney's classroom or something." Haley shrugged. "I'm gonna start browsing through the book and tell you about it later. How's that sound?"  
Ron nodded enthusiastically. Did that boy ever think about anything beside food?

"Yeah, let's do it that way," he agreed with a grin. He turned toward the Great Hall, but hesitated to actually take a step toward it. "But… are you sure you're not hungry?"  
Haley smiled. His concern was kind of sweet. "It's okay. I can always go down to the kitchens later on."

"Right," Ron agreed, sounding relieved. "I'll see you for Care of magical Creatures!"  
And with that he made his way toward the Great Hall. Haley shook her head in amusement and walked down the hall that lead to the library.

...

The letters on the page were starting to blur. What was it? A _Singing_ _Hex_? No, it said _Stinging_ _Hex_. Haley turned the page. _Goblin_ _Weed_? What was _that_ good for? There was a funny sketch of a dancing goblin below the text. Had Sirius drawn that? She turned another page. _Elphaba_ _Berries_. No, _Elpha_ _Berries_. What did they do?

_Commonly used for permanently colouring..._ _as green as a shamrock..._ Haley blinked, trying to read the rest of the information on the page. But she could barely keep her eyes open. It was a good thing that she was sitting down. Otherwise she might have collapsed on the spot. For a moment she let her head sink onto her arms that were resting on the table. In front of her was her prank book and as it seemed she was the only person in the library. Beside Madame Pince anyway.

"Do you think sleeping will make you pretty?" Asked a voice quietly. "You know, beauty sleep doesn't work for anyone."

Haley tensed. She knew that voice all too well. Since when was he here? She raised her head slowly, blinking up at the boy who was sitting in the chair opposite her. "Go away," she mumbled tiredly.

"Now, Potter, where are your manners?" Malfoy tsked lowly. She tried to glare at him. But she was too tired to do even that.

"There's something on your face," the Slytherin informed her as he reached across the table and brushed his thumb against her cheek. Was this a dream? Haley wasn't sure. But it felt different from a dream. Malfoy seemed different. He was smirking at her. But not in a particularly warm or friendly manner. What was going on then?

His thumb was scratching across her cheek and it was only then that Haley noticed he was wearing gloves. Why was he wearing gloves in the library? And it also smelled funny. Kind of sweet and fruity... She felt the urge to slap his hand away. But as she was raising her hand, she heard Hedwig's voice in her head.

_So, confirm it_ , the voice whispered. _Confirm it_ … Right. This was the perfect chance. What had she said again? She should hold his hand? Just as Malfoy was removing his hand from her face, Haley caught it in mid-air and almost slammed it against the table. Her sudden movement caused him to jerk backwards in surprise.

"Potter, what are you-?"

But Haley wasn't done with him. She leaned across the table until there were only inches between their faces. Trying not to blink, she looked right into his eyes.

"What on earth, are you doing, Potter?"

It could have been uncomfortable. But Haley was tying so hard to see anything special in his eyes that she didn't register much else.

"Potter, you're crushing my fingers! Are you mad?" He exclaimed and tore his hand and eyes away from her. He didn't look flustered or seem affected by her at all.

"I was just – I mean – I..." Well, so much for Hedwig's clever plan. Malfoy watched her like she had gone crazy. But wait… wasn't that a faint blush she spotted on his cheeks? She shook her head. No, it was probably just the light. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment, causing them to land on her book once more.

_Elpha_ _B_ _erries_ , she read and felt her eyelids droop again. No! She couldn't fall asleep now. Not now! Not… With a soft _clonk_ her head fell to the table. The last thing she remembered was soft fingers, lifting her chin and then she felt something like a soft cloth against her cheek.

"It's too bad," whispered a voice close to her face, in a tone that was tinged with remorse. But maybe that was just her imagination.

...

Haley woke up to the sound of voices.

"She's here! I told you, she was in the library!" That was Ron.

"Where?" Hermione's worried voice asked.

"Here, in the Herbology section."

The voices became louder.

"Thank Merlin, I thought – but you said she forgot something in the divination class room – this is already the second time! What if it's something serious? Ronald, you really shouldn't have left her alone when she was like this."

"What? Now it's my fault? She said she wasn't sick, okay? She said it herself!"

"And you believed her of course."

"Why the bloody hell shouldn't I?"

When Hermione let out a dangerous growl, Haley decided it was time for her to get involved.

"I'm fine. There's no need to get into a fight because of me." She lifted her head from where it had been resting on her arms and looked at her two friends in a way that was meant to be assuring.  
For a long moment the two did nothing but to stare at her in bewilderment. What was wrong? Did she look funny because she had just taken a nap? Did she have a weird imprint on her face?

"Your face!" Hermione exclaimed at the same time as Ron shrieked, "You're _green_!"

"I'm _what_?"

"Look at your hands!"

Haley took a look at her hands. They were completely green. Wait… her hands were _green_? She hastily pushed up her sleeves only to discover that the colour went all the way up her arms. " _What in Merlin's name?_ " She shrieked, absolutely horrified.

"Blimey," Ron commented, whistling lowly. "Look at your face."

"My face?" Haley echoed, scrambling for her bag and frantically looking for the tiny mirror she always kept in her bag. Where was it? Where _was_ it? Where – there, it was. With trembling fingers she snapped open the mirror and held it up in front of her face… with her eyes closed. Ever so slowly she opened one eye and then the second.

"No… no, no, no, no, no – this isn't me!" She yelled at the mirror, snapping it shut forcefully. The skin on her face was completely green as well. She looked at her reflection again and began rubbing the green skin furiously. It was no use. She spat on the seam of her sleeve and rubbed it over her arm. The skin stayed green.

"It's not coming off," Haley whined, feeling close to tears. Why did these things keep happening to her?

"Calm down," Hermione whispered soothingly, "let's go see Madame Pomfrey. I'm sure she can help you, all right?"

She took Haley's hand gently, stopping her friend from rubbing her skin raw.

Haley nodded. "Okay," she whispered dejectedly.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed all of a sudden, "Your hand..."

"What...?" Hermione's eyes widened, as she lowered her eyes to her hand. Where her hand was touching Haley's it was starting to turn green as well. She pulled her hand away so quickly, Haley almost didn't see the movement.

"Oh no! It's contagious," Hermione said, she sounded kind of fascinated but also appalled. "What kind of spell is this? It doesn't hurt…"

"Malfoy did it," Haley realised. Really, it was so obvious. "He was here, I think, before I fell asleep. I thought it was a dream first but… He must have hexed me then."

"That slimy son of a–"

"Ron!"

"What? He is a slimy little rat, he is! He deserves to be called much worse!"

"We're still in the library. Madame Pince will throw us out!"

"So what? Look at what he's done to Haley! Look at what he's done to you! We have to do something to make him stop once and for all."

"And what do you suggest, Ronald?"

"The prank book from Haley's dad. We should use it. Haley thinks so, too, don't you, Haley?"

The green-skinned girl looked from one of her friends to the other. Then she looked down at the table where said prank book lay. Where it was supposed to lie. It wasn't on the table. A dark foreboding feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She fetched her bag and emptied all that was inside onto the table. There was her hairbrush, books, her quill, parchment, owl treats, more books… but not the book she was looking for.  
She shook her head. "It's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?" Ron asked.

"I can't find it. I had it with me before. But… it's not here any more."

"Hermione, did you-?"

"I did not take the stupid prank book, Ronald!" Hermione hissed. Her other hand was starting to turn green as well.

Then Haley realised another blatantly obvious thing. "Malfoy has it."

The words left everyone in stunned silence.

"Well, shit." Ron muttered, putting it bluntly.

"This is a library! How dare you disturb the peaceful silence with these dirty words!" Madame Pince shrieked. She had appeared out of nowhere and only seconds later she shooed them almost violently out of the library.

...

Haley stayed in the hospital wing for two days. Technically, she didn't _have_ _to_ stay there but she was too embarrassed to leave and have the other students see her green face. Hermione left already on the first day, seeing as the colour hadn't fully spread on her skin and she was eager to attend classes again. Her and Ron came to visit her, bringing her homework and telling her everything else she missed. Once, Neville came by as well. He brought her a small bouquet of strange flowers he had sneaked from the green houses. It had been really sweet of him but Haley couldn't even properly thank him because she had hidden her green face behind the curtains around her bed during his whole visit.

Aside from these visits she had slept most of the time. She hadn't realised how much her body had needed to rest. Before going to sleep Haley had decided not to visit the dream corridor for one or two nights. She was so mad at Malfoy that she thought she might have killed him if she'd seen him. Even if it was just his dream-self. And she hadn't wanted to face Hedwig either. The owl would only start asking her stupid uncomfortable questions again.

After sleeping normally for two nights in a row, she felt refreshed and light. Her mum would be proud. It seemed things were looking up. But there was still the problem with Malfoy. He had her prank book now. So she couldn't use it against him any more. Even if she somehow got it back, he probably knew all about the different pranks and also how to reverse them by now. The way it seemed, she couldn't get at him in the real world. So, maybe there was really no other way but to… come at him in his dreams. What other options did she have? She would simply have to try harder.

So, the night after her skin had returned to its normal colour and she could finally sleep in her own bed again, she took Malfoy's gobstone pendant out of her drawer and wrapped it around her wrist. As she lay there with her eyes closed, she realised that she didn't really have a plan. How was she going to get back at the annoying Slytherin? Well, she would just have to make something up as she went. Perhaps his dream would inspire her.

**ooo**

Playing the song on Malfoy's guitar gets easier every time I do it. This time I even get it right on the first try. Myron Wagtail nods approvingly and even claps his hands a few times. If that's not a good sign I don't know what is. I feel strangely giddy at the prospect of what I'm about to do. After setting down the guitar, I lower my head in a mocking bow. I can't wait to make Malfoy suffer the way he made me. This will be so good! Before opening the door, I send an excited grin Myron's way. Then I open the door and slip through it.

The first thing I notice once I'm in Malfoy's dream is the darkness. Well it's not pitch black but certainly darker than inside the dream corridor. The place – or room, I can't really tell – is bathed in gloomy blue light, ranging from midnight to ocean blue.

Upon closer look, the different colours seem to originate from countless, different sized balloons that are slowly floating around. The way they are floating they resemble fish, weightlessly drifting through water. Inside the balloons there seems to be some sort of light that's giving off soft glows of blue.

It could look pretty but there is a strange coldness that enfolds the whole space like a blanket of ice. It makes me shiver. Am I alone in this dream? But that's not possible, is it? I mean… Malfoy has to be here, somewhere, right? As I walk further into the space, a sense of loneliness and sadness overcomes me. Those aren't my own feelings, are they? I rub my arms, in an attempt to stay warm.

Wait, didn't I hear a voice just now? I stop to listen closely. Yes, that was definitely a voice. Two voices if I'm correct. An indigo blue balloon the size of a carriage floats past me, making me shiver again. Does the cold emanate from these balloons? What would happen if I touched one of them? There is a figure somewhere in front of me. Is it Malfoy? I take a few steps toward the figure – it's a boy – but before I can reach him he jumps on one of the balloons, standing on top of it.

"How pathetic. No wonder nobody loves you," the boy purrs in a voice that is shockingly familiar. Neville? Is that really Neville's voice? I walk a bit closer so I can get a better look at him. Straw blond hair and a round kind face. It's Neville. But right this moment he doesn't look kind at all.

"How could you ever think she might like you?" He continues in a more than slightly mocking tone. Who is he talking to? I follow Neville's gaze toward a boy that is slumped on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms. All that is visible of his head is his strikingly, white blond hair…

"Someone like you… You're so pathetic," he spits. "You can't even deny it! She doesn't like cowards like you. You're weak and useless and–"

"Stop! Stop it!" The boy yells unexpectedly and lifts his head. His face is a contorted mask of pain.  
I gasp audibly. I try to stifle it but it seems neither of the two boys have noticed me. It's Malfoy. Malfoy is the one that's being put down by Neville… I can't believe this!

"You'll be alone forever. She will never look at you the way she looks at me," the Neville doppelgänger continues to taunt him.

"No! Stop it! _Shut up!_ " Malfoy hisses angrily, getting to his feet in one quick move.

Neville raises an eyebrow challengingly. "Oh, now it's starting to get interesting. How are you going to stop me?"

Malfoy takes out his wand and points it at Neville. That one gesture causes Neville to start chuckling amusedly. It sounds uncharacteristically cruel. He doesn't look the slightest bit intimidated or frightened. I don't see his wand anywhere.

"Let's see who has the last laugh," the Slytherin says in reply. He seems surprisingly determined.

For a second everything seems frozen like in a muggle photograph. I don't know what to feel. Or who I want to win this fight.

" _Stupefy!_ " Malfoy yells and I fight the urge of calling out to Neville telling him to watch out. He doesn't move an inch. I blink in confusion. He didn't move because there had been no spell coming at him. No red sparks.

Malfoy glares at Neville angrily. " _Stupefy!_ " He yells again. " _Impedimenta!_ " But nothing happens still. Nothing except for Neville's increasing laughter. He spreads out his arms in a seemingly inviting manner. "Come on! Don't tell me that's all you've got," he taunts.

" _Stupefy_ ," the Slytherin shouts, sounding more and more exasperated. " _Stupefy, stupefy – crucio!_ " Even though this is a dream, hearing the incantation of the Unforgivable curse makes me flinch. But luckily the wand still doesn't seem to work. I don't think I would have been able to stand there and watch Neville – or this distorted version of him – being tortured.

The laughter stops abruptly. "Now, that's just tasteless, don't you think?" Neville asks, as he jumps down from his balloon.

"Do _not_ come closer," Malfoy orders in a voice that sounds close to panicked. He tightly grips the wand in both his hands. Neville marches on regardless of his words.

"I said _don't_!" Malfoy screeches. " _Cruci_ –!" He breaks off before he can finish, looking at his hands in bewilderment. They're empty. His wand is gone. His gaze wanders up again until it lands on the wand that is lying there in Neville's open palm.

"Are you looking for this?" Neville asks with a smirk.

"Give it back!" Malfoy hisses, his face as white as chalk.

"No, I don't think so," the other boy purrs in a pitying tone. "You haven't earned it."

"I said _give it back_!"

"Come and get it yourself if you can. And if you cannot… well I always knew you were a failure. And the fun thing is that it's your own fault."

Malfoy opens his mouth to argue but he can't seem to find the right words. Something washes through the whole room like an invisible wave. A feeling? No. Different feelings. Humiliation, sadness, anger, frustration. Shame. Helplessness. Fear. I feel them as sharply as if they were my own. They strike a note somewhere deep inside of me. This is how I feel every time Malfoy finds a new way to torment me. I chance a look at him. He looks devastated.

"See? You don't even deny it," Neville says with a chuckle. "Look at you. Nobody could ever love someone like you. You're nothing but a pitiful little-"

"Leave him alone!" I surprise myself by striding over to the two boys and coming to a halt between them. I turn to face this bad copy of Neville and – for possibly the first time ever – find myself wishing he wasn't there. One second later he vanishes into thin air. Wait… did _I_ do that? I turn around to look for him but there's no trace of the wannabe Gryffindor left.

It's just me… and Malfoy. Who's fixing me with a weary look. I didn't think this through. What in Merlin's name am I supposed to do now?

"I-" I start to say but the boy doesn't let me finish.

"Is it true?" He asks. His voice sounds hollow and lifeless. I look into his eyes but I'm not sure he's really there.

"Is... what... true?" I question nervously. He takes a step toward me, so he's standing right in front of me.

"What he said… That nobody could ever love someone like me. That… you could never-" He doesn't finish his sentence. His voice breaks on the last word, piercing like glass.

"Is it true?" He asks again more urgently. He suddenly grabs my shoulders. I can do nothing but stare into his intense grey eyes that look anxiously back at me. There's water pooling in his eyes. He blinks and the tears stream down his cheeks like tiny rivulets. Nothing has ever shocked me the way the sight of this crying boy is shocking me in this very moment. It looks so _wrong_. Like the world has turned upside-down.

" _Is it true?_ " He asks another time, his voice shaky and desperate as he shakes me by the shoulders.

I shake my head absently but I'm not sure what it means. Whether it is an answer to his question or just an attempt at willing away this whole situation like one might shake off a disturbing thought.

Then without a warning, Malfoy's hands slip from my shoulders and he sinks to his knees, burying his face in his hands.

"Look, I-" I don't know what I'm trying to say but it doesn't matter much anyway. All of a sudden the ground starts to shake and everything starts to blur into a formless grey mass until it all just vanishes abruptly. When I say everything I'm not just talking about the blue balloons or the walls. The colours are gone, the noise is gone, the ground beneath me is gone. But I'm somehow not falling. I'm not standing either. Malfoy is gone. And I am the only thing that's left. Not even the dream door is anywhere in sight. It looks like I'm trapped here. It's just me, the nothingness and the unsettling memory of Malfoy's broken eyes.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! SO, now the angst begins... but it won't stay for long. What did you think? I'd love to hear any thoughts about the chapter :) How did you like Hedwig? I had so much fun writing her in the beginning of the chapter. You probably already guessed but Hedwig turned herself into the dragon from "The Neverending Story". I saw that movie as a child and it was awesome. But to be honest the book is so much better. Go read it :)  
> Fun fact: I actually once rode on the back of Falcor, the luckdragon. There is this puppet of him in the film studios in Munich, where you can sit on his back and they film you and you appear on a screen where it looks like you're actually flying. Quite cool. But the puppet is much more impressive in the movie than in real life.
> 
> The title is inspired by "Envy Green" by The Arcadian Wild. Such a cool song.
> 
> Have an awesome weekend and leave me your thoughts, Feather :)


	7. The Last Laugh

" _I had a dream about you last night. The champagne was non-alcoholic. You didn't notice, and laughed at my jokes anyway."  
― Michael Summers, I Had a Dream About You_

_..._

It was a dream. Nothing but a dream. And it had nothing to do with her. Right? But then why couldn't Haley stop thinking about it? And why did she feel so bad? Malfoy had finally got a taste of his own medicine. Wasn't this what she had wanted? _Not like this_ , she thought. The git probably didn't even remember it. Or did he? Even if he did, this hadn't been _her_ revenge. It had just been a stupid nightmare. But then why did she feel so bad about it? And what in Merlin's name did Neville have to do with all of this?

"Um, Haley? We're not supposed to repot the tigerlilies today. Professor Sprout said all we're doing today is feeding them and cutting their claws," Neville informed her and gently removed her hand from the pot where she had started digging.

"What? But didn't she say we were going to repot them?" She asked confusedly.

"Yes, but not until next week," he replied with a kind smile, before turning back to his own tigerlilies. For a moment, Haley watched him patiently cutting the claws of the tigerlilies. He seemed so contend doing that. It was such a different picture compared to the version of him she had seen in Malfoy's dream last night. Should she ask him about it? But what should she ask?

"Neville?" She asked, trying for a neutral tone.

"Hm?"

"You know… about Malfoy..."

Neville turned back to her at once. "Malfoy? Did he do something to you again?"

"No, no, no! That's not..." She raised her hands, waving them back and forth to emphasise her point. "I just… I was wondering if, you know… if you and Malfoy ever… if there was something…" Why was it so hard to ask a simple question?

Neville frowned at her. "Me and Malfoy? What-? What are you talking about?"

"Did you ever… I don't know… fight – or something?"

"Fight?" He echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Um… yes?"

Neville turned away from her and started feeding his tigerlilies with _dirigible plums_. "Why do you ask?" He questioned lightly. But something about his voice sounded strange. And he wasn't even looking at her.

"Just because," she offered with a shrug. "So, did you have a fight with him?"

The boy in question shook his head and mumbled. "Not that I remember."

"Are you sure?" She inquired.

"Yeah." He grinned. "Do you _want_ me to hex him?"

His words conjured up a much too vivid image of Malfoy's dream in front of her inner eye. She almost shuddered at the memory of the Slytherin screaming _Crucio_ at Neville.

"No, that's okay," Haley quickly assured her friend. "It's just-" She bit her lips. How was she supposed to approach the topic without revealing what she had seen in last night's dream?

"Never mind." She replied instead, while she reached for her pair of scissors and proceeded to work on her tigerlilies.

"Here, take mine. I sharpened them just now," Neville told her, before offering his pair of scissors to her.

"Thanks," she replied, taking the scissors from his warm and calloused hands. He wasn't even wearing gloves. But then, he hadn't even gotten a scratch when they had worked with the biting beans. He just had a way with plants. Maybe they sensed his unwavering kindness and compassion. Haley felt stupid. How could she have ever thought he somehow played a part in Malfoy's nightmare?

…

They went back to the castle for lunch and as they reached the Entrance Hall, Haley spotted Malfoy, leaning against the banisters of the staircase. He almost seemed like he was waiting for something. There was a thoughtful, almost pensieve air about him. When they passed him an annoying smirk appeared on his face.

"Hey Potter, what happened to your skin? The green looked so good on you. I have this poison green scarf that would have suited your skin tone perfectly. I could have lent it to you."

"Leave her alone, Malfoy," Neville said calmly. His voice might have been calm but there was something threatening in his gaze. The Slytherin sneered at him angrily, which uncomfortably reminded Haley of the unsettling dream.

"Don't worry, Neville, I can handle it," she quickly intervened, stepping between the two boys.

"Are you sure?" Her friend asked with obvious concern.

"Yes," she assured him. "Why don't you go on ahead and save me a seat? I'll be there in a moment."  
The boy's eyes lingered on Haley's face for a moment before trailing over to Malfoy.

"If you're sure," he muttered. She nodded, giving him a small smile. After a last glance at the other boy, Neville turned around and made his way over toward the Great Hall. Looking back at the Slytherin, she found him watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"How brave of you." He drawled mockingly. "Sending your golden knight away to face the big bad Slytherin all alone."

Haley rolled her eyes. She couldn't stand the git. Why was she doing this again? And what was she doing in the first place? For a moment she had toyed with the idea of apologizing to him. But she quickly thought better of it. How was it her fault that the idiot had had such an awful dream? Everyone had nightmares. Why should she feel sorry for that? Well, she had witnessed his breakdown without his knowledge. So, there was that. But that was really the only thing she felt bad about. And she couldn't just go and say 'S _orry, for_ _peaking at_ _you in your dream last night._ _Won't happen again, promise'._ That was ridiculous. So, she simply looked at him while she tried to come up with a suitable response.

"What are you staring at?" He asked with a sneer.

"I'm-" she bit her lips, before the word ' _sorry'_ could escape.

"You're what, Potter? Too daft to talk?"  
All the sympathy she felt vanished at once.

"I know it was you who took my notebook. So, I suggest you give it back," she spat, planting her hand on her hip and narrowing her eyes at him.

"Your notebook," he scoffed. "Are you calling me a thief right now?"

"What if I am?" She asked in return.

"Careful, Potter. I am a prefect, remember. And I would _suggest_ you take better care of your belongings before you start randomly accusing innocent people." Malfoy said all of that very calmly, making her feel like she was a stupid, immature child. She wanted to _scream_. He knew that she was right. His smug grin was practically spelling it out. But she didn't have any evidence. She would have to break into his dorm room in order to prove it.

"You know what? Forget it." She hissed, cursing herself for expecting any decency from the boy.

"Forget what?" Malfoy scoffed but Haley had already turned away from him and started marching in the direction of the Great Hall. She really should have known better.

…

It was silly. She didn't owe the git anything. Still… she felt like she could at least do this much. She could stay away from his dreams for one night. And at the same time this would please her mum. So, Haley decided to sleep like a normal person for once. She fell asleep surprisingly quickly. And in the morning her body thanked her by feeling rested and energetic. Even Hermione noticed that she seemed less tired than usual.

"You seem much more relaxed now," she commented during breakfast. "For a moment I thought the stress was too much on you."

"I'm fine, Hermione." She told her friend. "I simply needed a good night of sleep." It wasn't even a lie Haley noted. She wondered if she would ever be able to tell Hermione about her dream adventures. Probably not without her friend going ballistic.

"I still think we should tell Professor McGonnagall about your dad's book. She could make sure Malfoy has to give it back to you." Hermione advised, while spreading pumpkin jam across her slice of toast.

"We can't!" Ron piped up. "Then McGonnagall is gonna keep it and we will never see it again."

"And it won't make a difference anyway," Haley said resignedly. "The prat has probably memorised the whole book by now."

Hermione didn't argue with that. She didn't have to. She knew Haley was right.

…

She really should have seen it coming. All day the castle had been too quiet. Almost suspiciously so. Malfoy hadn't even sent a glare at her for the way she had called him a _thief_ the day before. So, when she reached for the last treacle tart at dinner and a pale hand snatched the treat away before she could yell _Wait_ _!,_ she should have realised something was wrong.

"Oops. Don't tell me you wanted to eat that," Malfoy drawled in mock-surprise. He demonstratively took a giant bite of the treacle tart, before grimacing. "Ew, this tastes awful. Do you want to have the rest?" He offered the sad rest of the treacle tart to her with a mocking grin.

"Not in your dreams, Malfoy," Haley replied, trying not to show how much he was getting to her.

"Don't say I didn't offer," the Slytherin said and handed the treat to Crabbe who was standing behind him.

"There are still some on our end!" Exclaimed a voice from the other end of the Gryffindor table. It was Colin Creevey who was excitedly running over to her, before placing a full tray of treacle tarts in front of her triumphantly.

"Thank you, Colin," Haley said warmly. He was really sweet. And somehow his sweetness reminded her of her brother, Simon. She smiled.

"Looks like your plan didn't work out after all." Haley said smugly, her eyes resting on Malfoy's while she grabbed one of the treacle tarts and slowly took a bite, savouring the taste.

Malfoy only shrugged, his smirk widening. "I guess you're too clever for me, Potter." He admitted. But what bothered her was his smirk. Why in Merlin's name was he smirking like that?

"Stop smirking you-" Haley clapped her hand in front of her mouth. Was that her voice? Why did it sound like she was trying to imitate a chipmunk?

"What did you do to me you prat?" She squeaked, sounding terribly close to a mouse.  
That's when the boy in question and his Slytherin friends burst into roaring laughter. And they weren't the only ones. Some of the members of her own house were also joining in the laughter. Even Neville was fighting off a grin. Haley felt her face flame up in embarrassment. Could this get any worse?

"You absolute git!" She screeched, getting up from her seat. She wished she could simply vanish into thin air. But perhaps dramatically rushing out of the Great Hall would be enough for the moment? She proceeded to do exactly that when a voice stopped her from taking even one step.

"Haley, don't you want to eat up?"  
The girl in question turned back around slowly. Neville was holding her forgotten treacle tart in his fingers and looking at her expectantly. It seemed like he had been the one talking to her but the voice hadn't sounded like his at all. It had sounded at least two octaves higher.

"I honestly don't know what your problem is, Malfoy. They're delicious!" Neville said to Malfoy, his voice sounding almost as high as Haley's.

"Hey Fred, what d'you reckon is in there?" George Weasley piped up in an equally squeaky tone.

"Don't know, but we should definitely take a sample for later." His twin brother replied with an unnaturally high giggle.

It was incredibly touching what her friends were doing for her. And now, she could even appreciate the humour in all of this. Everyone just sounded so ridiculous that she found herself laughing. She glanced at Malfoy. The sour look on his face made her only laugh more. It seemed like he had lost this round.

"Who has the last laugh, now, Malfoy?" She asked him, not caring about her squeaky voice any longer.  
Malfoy snorted. "We'll see." He sneered, before stalking out of the Great Hall, closely followed by his entourage.

**...ooo...**

Is this a bad idea? Will Malfoy realise that I'm not the real Goyle? Probably not… In a dream it's not that unusual that your friends act different sometimes, right? The more pressing question is whether the Slytherin is really going to tell his friends about his most intimate thoughts. Well, there is only one way to find out.

I walk down the dream corridor, trying to imitate the way Goyle walks. Am I doing this right? To the left there is my brother's dream door. It's been a while since I last visited him. His door looks terribly inviting. For a moment I just stand there, wishing I could see his welcoming face for a bit. But unfortunately there are other things I have to take care of.

"What are you doing here?" Asks a familiar voice out of the blue. I turn around but there's no one there. Huh?

"I'm here," says the voice and then I spot something fluttering close to my face. It's a tiny human with leathery, dragonlike wings that glimmer in different colours of the rainbow. It's my mum.  
I can only gape at her. She is full of surprises. And currently no taller than my thumb.

"Were you going to visit your brother, love?" She asks, nodding toward Simon's door.  
I shake my head, still transfixed by the flapping of her wings. Then I realise something.

"Wait. How did you know it's me?" As far as I can see I still have the appearance of Gregory Goyle.  
Mum knocks at the lens of my glasses. "I know those glasses, poppet," she remarks with a grin.  
Right. Maybe I should take off my glasses. I take them off and store them inside the pocket of my Slytherin robes.

"So, where are you headed looking like this?" Mum asks curiously.

"Well… you know." I offer, making vague gestures in the direction I was heading.

"I see. You're on a secret mission. Has your stalking been successful so far?" She questions, tugging at a strand of my short hair.

"It's not stalking," I protest weakly. In a way it could be considered stalking. And we both know it.

"If you say so," mum replies, letting go of my hair. "But… just so you know, if you have questions or if there is anything you don't understand, just ask me. Dreaming is my speciality!" She exclaims while flying upwards in a spiral. She looks like a ballerina. With dragon wings. This is so surreal.

"Well, now that you mention it, there _is_ something I've been wondering about," I muse.

"Yes?" Mum has stopped twirling around in circles and is floating down now so she can meet my eyes.

"I was… in someone's dream the other night… And then all of a sudden he disappeared and everything else vanished as well. Even the dream door. There was literally nothing there beside me." I end my tale with a shrug. It had been terrible. I had been feeling so lost and lonely. I don't ever want to repeat that experience again.

"Ah, I see," mum remarks, touching her chin with her tiny finger. "He must have woken up."

"Really?" I ask. It seems like such an easy and logical explanation. I could have deduced that myself.  
Mum, the dragon fairy, nods.

"But… when that happens. Is there any way to get out or back to the corridor?" That had been the worst. Not knowing when or _if_ I was ever going to escape the nothingness.

"I'm afraid, the only way to get out is to wait until you wake up," she informs me. She seems disappointed that she can't be of more help to me.

"It's fine, I guess. At least I know what it means now." I want to pat her arm or something. But she is simply too small for that. I opt for a smile instead.

"I love your wings by the way."

"Thanks, love," she smiles back at me, reaching for my face and pinching my cheek. I don't even feel it. "I know why you're my favourite daughter."

"I'm your only daughter," I remind her with a frown.

Mum waves her hand at me in a dismissive way. "Technicalities. Didn't you say you had things to attend to?"  
Right. I've come here for a reason.

"You're right. I'll be going then."

"Good luck with your mission!"

"Thanks!" I wave at her one last time, before turning around and following the corridor to the dream door of Draco Malfoy.

"Look at that! A new face!" Myron Wagtail greets me excitedly.

"Hey Myron!" I greet back.

"How do you know my name?" He asks suspiciously.

"Everyone knows your name," I reply, while trying to make my voice sound like Goyle's. It's not that hard. All I need to do is make it sound deeper and add a bit of grunting.

"Oh right! Of course! I'm super-mega-famous!" He exclaims and proceeds to bang his head wildly. Instead of waiting for the singer to finish I grab the guitar and start plucking the strings. It sounds awesome if I may say so myself.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Myron interrupts me, shaking his head forcefully. Huh?

"But it sounded so great!" I protest.

"You're right. But sadly it was the wrong tune." He informs me, wiggling his pointer finger at me.

Then I realise that I _have_ been playing the wrong song after all! I played the intro of that muggle song about a baby that's plugged in or something like that. I heard it on the radio the other night. How thoughtless of me. Fortunately, I can just try again. Here comes the amazing _Weird Sisters_ solo! By now I can practically play this in my sleep. _Literally_. After the last string has been plucked I set down the guitar and look at Myron.

"Not as brilliant as I would have played it but I guess you may enter," he acknowledges and finally the door opens. _What a show-off_ , I think, while I walk through the door.

Hm. The room that I find myself in seems at the same time familiar and strange. It looks a bit like the Gryffindor common room. But the colour scheme is different. Everything is decorated in green tones instead of red and gold. And the couches and armchairs are arranged differently as well. This must be what the Slytherin common room looks like.

"Ah, Goyle! You've decided to join us! Come here and sit with us." Draco Malfoy invites me over to where he is sitting on a couch with Blaise Zabini. It seems my disguise is convincing enough.

I make my way over to the two boys and take a seat in the armchair that's next to the couch. I'm too nervous to sit opposite him. This way he won't catch me that easily.

"So, we were just talking about the party we're throwing next weekend. If you could invite anyone," he pauses dramatically and looks right into my eyes. "Who would you invite?"

"I'd invite Fleur Dela-"

"I don't remember asking you, Zabini. We all know you've got the hots for that French veela girl. I was asking Goyle." Malfoy interrupts, looking at me expectantly. "Now, Goyle."

"Uh… well, I..." I mutter stupidly. Who would expect such a question?

"Come on, Goyle! Who shall we invite?" Malfoy asks again. He sounds impatient and curious.

"Maybe – maybe –" I really don't know what he wants to hear from me. Well, here goes nothing. "Potter!" I burst out. "We could invite Potter."

Malfoy narrows his eyes at me. Damn. Seems like that was the wrong choice.

"Potter?" He questions in a dangerous tone. I nod, biting my lips, nervously.

"Why would _you_ invite _her_?"

"Uh – I just thought – I – I mean..."

"You thought _what_?"

"I don't know," I grunt, hoping the answer will be enough.

Malfoy rolls his eyes. "I want to believe you, you know," he says, poking a finger at my chest. Or at least he tries to because I scoot away before he can reach me. I might look like a guy now but it would still feel terribly wrong to let Malfoy touch my chest.

The boy in questions frowns at me, before continuing to speak. "After all, I don't think I need to explain to you that Haley Potter is off-limits. I can't make an exception for you, Goyle," he concludes, sounding almost sad. What the heck?

"I – It's not like that." I answer. This is so weird. I would have never imagined that there would come a day (or night) where I would have to assure Draco Malfoy that I don't have a crush on myself. But wait. Does that mean he really… he really does like me?

"Of course it isn't like that," he says kindly. "You'd never betray me. You wouldn't dare." That doesn't sound scary at all. Or crazy. I want to ask him about me. But with the way he looks at me – or Goyle – that doesn't seem like the best idea. Maybe I need a change of plans.

"So Zabini," Malfoy turns to the other boy. He seems to have forgotten about me. "Who else shall we invite? Besides Fleur Dela-what-do-I-care."

Zabini considers this for a second. I intensely stare at him, trying to memorise exactly what he looks like. Before the boy has a chance to answer I jump up and point at something behind Malfoy.

"The snitch, the snitch!" I shout excitedly.

"Where?" The blond asks, turning around. Ha. I didn't think this would actually work. Now to Zabini. I make a swift gesture with my hand in his direction like I'm trying to get rid off a fly. And just like that he vanishes. So far so good. Closing my eyes, I quickly envision Zabini's appearance and will myself to look like him.

"It's gone," Malfoy states, turning his head back around. He doesn't seem surprised about the fact that Zabini sits no longer next to him or that Goyle is gone in the slightest. "We need to finish the guest list today, _Zabini,_ " he presses, staring at me intensely. Seems my transformation has worked.

"We should invite Neville," I propose casually. This could either be a big mistake or my chance to finally get some answers.

"Who?" The blond asks, seeming confused. That's when I realise I probably used the wrong name.

"I – I meant Longbottom," I sputter.

Malfoy glares at me even more than he did when I suggested inviting myself. Well, damn.

"Longbottom?" Malfoy echoes in a dangerously quite tone. "I wouldn't invite that moron if I had the choice between him and a mountain troll."

"Why do you hate him so much?" I dare ask, before I can stop myself.

"You mean aside from the obvious?" The boy scoffs. I nod.

"Do you remember last year when I asked you how you got that Gryffindor to come to the ball with you?" He asks with a sigh. Then he continues without waiting for a reply. "Well, guess what, I was planning to ask Potter." He dead-pans. I freeze. Is this… is this the truth?

"I had it all planned out," he continues. "And then when I finally got my nerves together that idiot had to go and snatch her away." It looks like the memory – is it a memory? – pains him. "It's just – it's all his fault! Everything. He ruined everything!"

I'm too shocked to say anything in return.

"So, do me a favour and _never_ mention that blasted name ever again," he concludes, fixing me with a sharp glare. There's a storm of emotions raging behind his grey eyes. I get the feeling that there might be more to the story.

The intensity seems too much for mere jealousy. I open my mouth to ask but Malfoy cuts me off before I can get out even one syllable.

"Hey, mind if I drink this?"

"W-what?"

Instead of answering the Slytherin grabs a green mug with gold dots from the table in front of the couch that I notice only now. I don't know what I expected to be inside it. But from the colour of the liquid and the delicious, unmistakable smell it seems like it's hot chocolate. Malfoy reaches under the table and brings up a dusty brown bottle, labelled _Firewhisky_.

"A hot drink for a hot lad," the blond drawls, pulling off the cork and adding no more than a teaspoon of Firewhiskey to his cocoa. I chuckle at his careful administrations. This is the best thing since chocolate frogs.

"Stop laughing," he growls, putting the bottle down again. "Or I'm going to tell your precious girlfriend about the _magazines_ you keep beneath your pillow." _Magazines_?

"By the way, I took one last week. You know the one with the witch in the broom closet. Do you actually enjoy these? I found it awfully tacky. What were these people thinking – Zabini, where are you – are you blushing?" Malfoy asks in a mocking tone. I'm on my feet, half-way toward the door that hopefully leads out of this dream. No way am I going to stay here and talk about these _magazines_ with a guy. And with Malfoy on top of that!

"You're not embarrassed, are you?" He calls after me but I'm already at the door, pulling at the handle violently. I'm gone before Malfoy gets the chance to utter even one more word.

Once I'm in the corridor I turn right and keep walking straight ahead until I reach the door that looks like a bakery. I open it without thinking twice. Seeing my brother Simon is surely going to brighten my mood. The room I enter looks suspiciously like our kitchen at home. The walls are painted in warm reds and oranges with mum's and some of my own paintings covering them.

"Here, would you take those to mum and Baz? For the icing?" Simon tells me, while handing me a baking tray full of biscuits shaped like snitches. Reflexively, I take the tray and look around, searching for the two in question. At the other end of the room I spot a dark-haired boy sitting at our kitchen table and decorating cookies.

Wait a second… isn't that Baz? The boy from the Hampshire Quidditch team who always torments my brother? What in Merlin's name is that evil gnome doing here? The tray comes to rest on the table with a loud _clank_. Baz flinches and looks up at me with wide confused eyes. He deserves it.

"Where are your manners? You're scaring away our guest," mum's voice admonishes. But she's nowhere to be – there. The dragon wings. She is still as small as my thumb and cheerfully painting colourful patterns onto the cookies with a toothpick airbrush. Did I imagine it or did she just wink at me? Has everyone gone insane? I march over to where Simon is cutting out the next batch of biscuits.

"What is that evil dwarf doing here?" I ask suspiciously.

"Oh, Baz? He came by and I invited him to help me make biscuits. At first I thought he was going to punch me but then he actually came in and started helping me. Weird huh? He does everything I say." Simon tells me happily. I swallow down the urge to inform him that this is just a dream.

He leans in close to me and whispers, "You know I think it's because of the biscuits. Sweets make people happy."

"You can't seriously believe that."

"Why not? Maybe we'll even become friends," he says with a bright smile.

"Come on, Simon, bullies don't suddenly turn into nice people just because you give them sweets," I argue with a frown.

He looks back over his shoulder. "They might. And besides, trying doesn't hurt." He shrugs and turns back to the cookies at hand. The snitches all seem to be smiling now.

I turn my head and let my eyes linger on the boy with the long black hair that I've never seen with a facial expression that could be described as remotely friendly. The boy who always seemed to hate my brother on mere principle. But here he is. Decorating cookies at my kitchen table and a warm smile on his face. I know it's not real. It's just an expression of my brother's subconscious. But maybe… it could be worth a try. And just like Simon said, trying doesn't hurt. At least I hope it doesn't.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This was another crazy chapter but I hope you enjoyed it :) In case you're curious what Haley was playing on the guitar before playing the right tune: it was "Plug in baby" by MUSE. The intro to that song is awesome! Oh right, the idea for the prank with Haley's voice was actually a suggestion from one of my reviewers. So I'd like to thank them again for that :)  
> As always I would be more than happy to hear your thoughts!
> 
> All the best, Feather :)
> 
> On a different note, did any of you read the "School for Good and Evil" series? I think this might be the best series of books I read this year. I could talk about it all day :D


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